Since moving here I have made friends with my next door neighbors. I live in an apartment building and they live across the stairwell from my flat. Now this may not seem like that odd, other than the fact that really the only people I have befriended from this family is the children. They are two girls one 10 and the other 8. They are cousins and part of the nuclear family that lives in the house. They have been great neighbors as they are jumping to saying hello and always watching out for me as I make my way around town. They are also pretty incredible little girls. They both speak English well and the older speaks at an advanced level. She also speaks at least four other languages. That is right, a ten year old girl speaks five languages fluently. Recently though something happened that allowed me the opportunity to meet the rest of the family.
The grandmother passed away from liver failure. This was the first time since I have been here that someone I have had some sort of relationship with has passed away. I was not prepared for the emotions that would follow. The first were feelings that I have felt before, when someone you care about loses a loved one, you always hurt with them. You do not hurt in the same way, but you still hurt for them. You want to take their pain, and that was what I felt. I then began to think about the consequences of this death as well. I have known people to die without Christ as their Savior and it is a gut wrenching experience, but this was different. This grandmother had died and if she had heard of Jesus, she has probably never heard a presentation of the Gospel. That means that this woman is dead without Christ and never heard Him preached. The cold reality is that she is suffering eternal punishment in hell. This is hard to say and hard to think about, but this is the truth. The Bible is clear that the only way to heaven is Jesus Christ and those that have not heard are without excuse. This family though feels other wise, and the puja began, a type of worship centered on paying for your sins. They burned incense, offered food to the gods and prayed that she would find favor in the after life. All the while Christianity teaches that her fate is already decided. My beliefs were tested, do I truly believe that she is in Hell? I would be willing to preach it from the pulpit, but I had never been on this side of it though. I have never seen someone die without hearing the Gospel. There is no doubt though. I believe it to be true. I know what the Bible says. That does not make it easy.
The next step was to find out what to do about helping them. My culture teaches that when death happens with those you love bringing food is always a good start, and here the same rings true. I went down to the fruit stand and bought a good supply. I placed it in a basket and the fruit basket was born. This lead to another emotional roller coaster. After knocking on the door the mother of my friend answered, she being daughter of the woman that had just died. She like most at the death of a parent was hurting, and it was written all over her face. What can I do? What can I say? How can I make a difference? The only thing I knew to do was stand and wait. She takes my offering and invites me in for tea with the rest of her family. I sit down quickly drinking my tea and then begin to head for the door. I say good bye and my experience this day is over. This is where more reality begins to hit me. I hopefully over the next year here will have opportunities to share with her about my King. This family accepting though comes with some dire consequences.
Their accepting of the Christian faith is to accept this matriarch is dead and in hell. Wow. What now? Where do I even begin? Where do they begin? Would you be willing to admit your father or you mother was bound to a Christless eternity? I know that some of the truths of the Bible are not always easy. I wish everybody just went to heaven, but this cannot be the case. What kind of God can be gracious without being righteous, show mercy without judgement? Could hot exist without the cold? Noise without silence? This truth is hard to deal with, but one I must understand. Would it be easier to admit your parents are in Hell after you balked at telling them about Christ or to tell them about a Savior that loves them now?
