I GAVE MY BIBLE AWAY!

I GAVE MY BIBLE AWAY!

It was Christmas day in the year 2007. We invited our neighbors who belonged to a different faith to come home for Christmas lunch. One was a conservative religious family who had left their home city due to a communal riot and now lived in Pune. The other neighbors were a group of nine university students from another country who had left their war ridden villages to pursue higher studies in Pune. We talked about food, culture, politics and common neighborhood issues and made friendship. Eventually, the conversation turned to Christmas. They asked several questions about Christmas and Jesus and we were very excited as we satisfied their curiosity. As we were talking, I noticed that one of the students took a copy of the printed Bible which was on a side table and began to browse through it. Later another student took the same Bible and began to flip the pages with curiosity. I asked him whether he would like to borrow my Bible so that he can read it at leisure. There was a big smile. He said that he had desired to purchase a copy of the Bible for a long time and he would be glad to borrow my Bible. I gladly gave my Bible away hoping and praying that God's word will transform this young man.

But later I realized that it was not an easy decision because it was my personal copy of the Bible that I had liked very much. Several years ago, I had distributed copies of the New Testament to many but I had never given away my personal copy of the Bible. I gave away my Bible for friendship with displaced neighbors.

We broke family tradition that year to invite our neighbors who were displaced to join us for the Christmas lunch. We made new friendships. Many years later, I heard that one among the nine students came to know the Lord personally and is now a follower. We live in a globalized context where we find people displaced from their homes living as our neighbors. We as families and communities of faith who follow Christ need to reach out to them and welcome them in to our homes and make friends. God loves refugees. Do you love refugees?  John Amalraj

2017 Issue I, INFOCUS

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