Twenty years ago, January 23, 1999, Graham Staines, an
Australian missionary to India, was burned to death along with his two sons,
Philip, age 10, and Timothy, age 6.
Staines was 57. For 35 years Graham
had ministered to lepers in a remote tribal village in India where he established
the Mayurbanj Leprosy Home in 1982. In
1983 he married his wife, Gladys, who joined him in the work.
The mob that killed Graham Staines and his sons was
apparently a hard-line Hindu
organization intent on retribution for the missionary’s effectiveness in
converting members of the lower cast to faith in Jesus Christ. After the attack, Gladys Staines forgave
those who murdered her husband and sons.
She remained in India with their daughter, Esther, and continued their
ministry among the lepers. She stated, “I
cannot just leave those people who love and trust us. I have high regard for
the people of India and their tolerance.”
The government of India awarded Gladys Staines the fourth
highest civilian award in 2005, Padma Sri in recognition for her outstanding
contribution to India. She has been
called the best known Christian in India after Mother Theresa. In 2015 she was awarded the Mother Theresa
Memorial Award for Social Justice.
Their story was recently made into a movie entitle The Least of These and released into
theaters on February 1. It appears the
movie will be shown in a limited number of theaters for a limited time. The
Executive Producer for the film, Victor Abraham, said the movie “beautifully illustrates
the power of love, hope and forgiveness to overcome hate.” It is a gripping
reminder of the cost paid by followers of Christ in every generation and the
power of God’s love through Jesus Christ.
According to Christianity Today “215 million Christians experience high,
very high or extreme levels of persecution.”
Most of us suffer little for our faith. Few of us will ever
be required to shed our blood or give our lives. But such global persecution of Christians is
widespread. Everyone who follows Christ
in every time and in every place is called to follow the instructions of
Scripture: “ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice
with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the
same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate
with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect
what is right in the sight of all men. If
possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never
take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for
it is written, “Vengeance
is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your
enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him to drink; for in so
doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:14-21).
No comments:
Post a Comment