Hope Has Many Names--Part 2 (Gospel for Asia)

Many who are familiar with the ministry of Gospel for Asia
know that first and foremost we are committed to planting
churches and making new disciples. Our concern has always
been evangelism and church planting, never to be replaced by
social work alone.

The salvation of souls and making of disciples have been
our aim and goal in all things, the ruler by which all ministry
opportunities are measured. But this in no way means that we
do not care about the physical suffering of those to whom we
seek to minister.

Our spirits, which are eternal and infinitely more precious
than the whole physical world, are contained in perishable,
physical bodies. And throughout the Scripture, we see that God
used the felt needs of the body to draw people to Himself. Truly,
the needs of suffering men, women and children in this world
are great—especially in the 10/40 Window.

Calcutta alone is home to more than 100,000 street children
who know neither mother nor father, love nor care. They are
not just numbers or statistics—they are real children. Though
nameless and faceless on the streets where they live, each one
was created with love and is known by God.

It is doubtful they’ve ever held a toothbrush or a bar of soap;
they’ve never eaten an ice-cream cone or cradled a doll. The
child laborers of South Asia toil in fireworks, carpet and match
factories; quarries and coal mines; rice fields, tea plantations
and pastures. Because they are exposed to dust, toxic fumes
and pesticides, their health is compromised; their bodies are
crippled from carrying heavy weights. Some are bonded laborers,
enslaved to their tasks by family poverty.

According to the Human Rights Watch, this is life for 60 to
115 million children in South Asia. In the Indian state of Tamil
Nadu, nine-year-old Lakshmi works in a factory as a cigarette
roller. She tells her sister’s story, giving us a glimpse into their
world:

My sister is ten years old. Every morning at seven she goes to the
bonded labor man, and every night at nine she comes home. He
treats her badly; he hits her if he thinks she is working slowly or
if she talks to the other children, he yells at her, he comes looking
for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this is very
difficult for her.

I don’t care about school or playing. I don’t care about any
of that. All I want is to bring my sister home from the bonded
labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home—that is our
only chance to get her back.

We don’t have 600 rupees . . . we will never have 600 rupees
[the equivalent of U.S.$14].1

These whom Christ thought of while dying on the cross must
not be forgotten by His Body today. These for whom Christ suffered
then must not be forsaken by us, His hands and feet, now.
In the midst of advancing world evangelism, we cannot hold
back the healing embrace with which to care and provide for
these who are precious in the sight of God.

I’m particularly talking about the Dalits, also known as the
“Untouchables”— the lowest caste of Hinduism. For 3,000
years, hundreds of millions of India’s Untouchables have suffered
oppression, slavery and countless atrocities. They are
trapped in a caste system that denies them adequate education,
safe drinking water, decent-paying jobs and the right to own
land or a home. Segregated and oppressed, Dalits are frequently
the victims of violent crime.

And just as the need is great, so is the possibility for Christ’s
power and love to be known.

In recent years, the door to these possibilities has been flung
wide open. Among Dalits and other low-caste groups that face
similar repressive treatment, there has been a growing desire
for freedom. Leaders representing approximately 700 million of
these people have come forth demanding justice and freedom
from caste slavery and persecution.

The turning point came on November 4, 2001, when tens of
thousands of Dalits gathered for one of the most historic meetings
of the 21st century, publicly declaring their desire to “quit
Hinduism” and follow a faith of their own choosing.