A Dramatic Conversion
Sundar Singh was raised a member of the Sikh religion in India in the late 1800’s. Sikhism is a sect within Hinduism that was founded about 1500A.D. that teaches belief in one God and rejects the caste system and idolatry. Prior to his conversion, Sundar attended a primary school run by the American Presbyterian Mission where the New Testament was read daily as a “textbook.” Sundar refused to read the Bible at the daily lessons. While something in the teaching of the gospel about the love of God attracted him, he still thought it was false.
In the midst of his confusion, and while only fourteen years old, his mother died. This precipitated a crisis of faith. His mother was a loving saintly woman and they were very close. In his anger, Sundar burned a copy of one of the gospels in public.
“Although I believed that I had done a very good deed by burning the Bible, I felt unhappy,” he said. Within three days Sundar Singh could bear his misery no longer. Late one night in December 1903, he rose from bed and prayed that God would reveal himself to him if he really existed. Otherwise — “I planned to throw myself in front of the train which passed by our house.” For seven hours Sundar Singh prayed. “O God, if there is a God, reveal thyself to me tonight.” The next train was due at five o’clock in the morning. The hours passed.
Suddenly the room filled with a glow. A man appeared before him. Sundar Singh heard a voice say, “How long will you deny me? I died for you; I have given my life for you.” He saw the man’s hands, pierced by nails.
Jesus was the last person Sundar was looking for. After all, Jesus was the ‘foreign god’ of the Christian teachers at his school. Amazed that his vision had taken the unexpected form of Jesus, Sundar was convinced in his heart that Jesus was the true Savior, and that He was alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy lingered within him. Little did he realise where his new found faith would take him and how much he would suffer to share its truth.
Whether your conversion was dramatic or not dramatic in human eyes ultimately matters very little. What does matter is your obedience to your confession of Christ. Will you truly follow Him?
To listen to this message, download in MP3 here