Why should anybody be frightened of Christians? We are barely 2.3 percent of India’s population. We do not have the numbers to dominate elections. We do not have armies marching behind us. Most of our institutions are schools, hospitals, homes for the aged and centres caring for those whom society has forgotten.
Then why the fear?
Perhaps they are not frightened of 2.3 percent Christians. They are frightened of an uncontainable Christ.
Two thousand years ago, Herod tried to kill Him as a baby. He failed.
Religious leaders tried to silence Him. They failed.
Pilate tried to wash his hands of Him. He failed.
The Roman Empire nailed Him to a cross, sealed His tomb and stationed soldiers outside it.
They failed.
On the third day, the stone rolled away.
Through history, emperors have banned His name, dictators have burned His Bible, regimes have imprisoned His followers and mobs have attacked His churches. Yet Jesus continues to walk through locked doors.
That is what unsettles earthly power.
You cannot contain a God who needs no microphone to speak.
You cannot arrest a God who enters the human heart.
You cannot frighten a God who has already defeated death.
Today, as conversion laws tighten in Maharashtra and similar legislation advances in Goa, Christians must be absolutely clear. We do not support conversion through force, fraud or inducement. Jesus never forced anyone to follow Him. He simply said, “Come, follow me.” Matthew 4:19.
But Christ also commanded us, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15.
That command was not issued by a government. Therefore, it cannot be cancelled by one.
When Peter and John were ordered to stop speaking about Jesus, they replied, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20.
They did not riot. They did not threaten. They simply refused to become silent.
That must be our answer today.
Let every Christian obey the law, document every act of service and oppose injustice peacefully. But let no Christian allow fear to close a church, silence a prayer or stop a hand from reaching out to the suffering.
Remember Daniel in the lions’ den.
Remember the three young men in the furnace.
Remember Paul singing in prison.
Remember the disciples emerging from hiding after Pentecost.
The Bible is filled with rulers who believed they could contain God. Today, their thrones are gone, their empires are history and many of their names are remembered only because they tried to stop Him.
But Jesus remains.
So do not be afraid, little flock.
They are not frightened of our percentage. They are frightened that when Christians forgive their attackers, love their neighbours, educate children, heal the sick and serve the abandoned, somebody may ask, “Why do you do this?”
And the answer will be one name.
Jesus.
The name above every name. The name no law can erase.
The God nobody has ever been able to contain..!
The Author conducts an online, eight session Writers and Speakers Course. If you’d like to join, do send a thumbs-up to WhatsApp number 9892572883 or send a message to bobsbanter@gmail.com
