India I The Best Thing You'll Hear This Week

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India

Who nailed it for this week? Today I’m concluding my two-part, circuitous route back to the days before cyber-space held our communications hostage, inspired by an actual face-to-face conversation with a man who has a plan. Actually it’s God’s plan, and you won’t find it on the internet. Yet… Hopefully with this podcast, it will take up a redemptive space the world wide web.

I’m Joel Fieri, Executive Producer of Christian Podcast Central. And this is “The Best Thing You’ll Hear This Week”

Last week I had lunch with a missionary that we’ve supported over the years. His field is Bible translation and distribution to closed countries around the world. He wanted to discuss his mission agencies latest strategic outreach to India, home to over a billion people and a multitude of languages and sub-cultures, all of them hostile and closed to the Gospel. Westerners aren’t allowed to witness for Christ in India. In fact, nobody can witness for Christ without severe consequences. But my friend has a plan. Since he and his agency cannot preach the word in India, they will translate the Bible into every language they can to make it available to Indian pastors and believers who, at great risk, will bring God’s word to each province, state and eventually, every village. Eventually. Meaning 100 years or so. Maybe longer. They don’t know, because once they release God’s word into India, it’s in God’s hands. His word will not return void, and the result will be in His timing, not theirs.

What struck me most about my friend and his plan is this; he’s an older gentlemen, himself born and raised on the mission field. He is not what I would call a relatable guy to our modern culture. I seriously doubt he’s ever read Relevant Magazine or seen many YouTube or BuzzFeed videos about social justice or how “woke” Christians can or should be. To be fair, I also doubt he’s partaken in much of the cranky, off-my-lawn conservative Christian media I attempt to highlight either. I don’t think he has time for all that silliness. He loves India (and the world) and he wants to see it reached for the sake of the Gospel. Not in his lifetime, or mine, or our children’s. But eventually. In God’s timing. And for eternity. What’s more, he didn’t ask me for more money like I assumed he would. No, he just wanted me to know there was a plan for India. It was so refreshing and such a blessing to see and hear someone with eternal priorities and perspective. Without them, we so easily get lost in all of our cultural debates over the worldly concerns of our post-modern society. Trivial concerns that are so starkly reflected in the darkness of the online world.

So, since I have no link this week to share with you, I’ll put this out on the internet, a small remnant of eternal perspective planted in the vastness of cyber-space. There’s a plan for India! Faithful Western believers will be bringing God’s Word to the borders and shores of India, and from there, faithful Indian believers will be taking God’s Word to the Indian people. And God, through his Word and through the Holy Spirit, will do the rest. In His good time. Brothers and sisters, whoever is listening to this message; THAT is the Best Thing You’ll Hear This Week (or any week).