Holding Fast

In Revelation chapter 3, to the faithful church at Philadelphia, the Lord offers these words of encouragement:
8 I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

God is calling us to be tenacious for our faith, and in verse 11, He uses the phrase, "Hold fast..." The passage mentions the church's "little strength."  Paul writes that when we are weak, God is strong in us. So, we might feel weak, we may experience discouragement, but we can continue to hope in the Lord. When we encounter opposition because of our faith, we can continue to rejoice in God and to continue to seek His face, recognizing that He is with us.

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In the nation of India, and other nations of the world, Christians are looked down upon and face opposition and even punishment for practicing their faith. James 2 calls out partiality, beginning in verse 1:
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool,"
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Verse 9 states, "...if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors."

A birthday party is generally a happy occasion, but for a 7-year-old boy in India, his family, and some of their friends, it has become something much less - in fact, it has become a time of trouble.

A group of what Morning Star News terms "Hindu extremists" invaded the event, which was quite sizable, and six women, including the boy's mother, were arrested. The extremists were "accusing Christians of using the event as a cover to fraudulently convert people."

The father, Mahendra Kumar, was quoted by Morning Star News as saying: “We face threats every day and do not know what will happen tomorrow.”  His wife, Indrakla, was one of the six women arrested under this false conversion charge - only 4 of the 6 were actually Christians.

The article gives an account:

Indrakla was getting her son ready for the party at about 1:30 p.m. on July 30 while three Christian women sang worship songs in an area near the house under a tent cover, she said.

The family had invited around 600 people, including 300 church members. About 150 guests had arrived when someone informed Indrakla that a group of men had arrived, arguing and objecting to the gathering.

When Indrakla told the intruders, members of the VHP, that they were gathered only to celebrate her son’s birthday, they accused her of luring people to convert under guise of the party. Police soon arrived, and in their presence the VHP members continued to harass her and her husband, she said.

“I stepped forward and tried to reason with them that it was my son’s birthday, and if there is nothing wrong with Hindus performing Hindu worship during their family birthday celebrations, what is wrong if we sing Christian choruses and pray before we eat?” Indrakla said.

The Hindu extremists refused to heed or answer her, she said.

“The atmosphere of celebration soon changed into despair as the police and Hindu extremists denigrated us,” Indrakla said. “They termed our birthday celebration as a ceremony for luring Dalit masses into becoming Christians.”

Police arrived and arrested the 6 women - the 2 who were not Christians are the owners of the house where the celebration occurred.  Those arrested are Dalits, who have been regarded as the "untouchables" in India's caste system.

This happened July 30; Indrakla was released on bail on September 1. But, the harassment doesn't seem to have let up. The article notes that "on two occasions assailants deliberately rammed a car into Kumar while he was on his motorbike with his son, and the family has received several threats, he said."  On October 21, they were woken up in the middle of the night by people "banging on their door."

Mahendra and Indrakla, in addition to the attacks they have faced, have also seen their standing in their community diminish.  The owners of their house have been attempting to force them to leave, and even family members will not take them in.  He has been unable to work as a food vendor, and supplies that were either borrowed or rented were stolen, and people are demanding they be returned.

The couple is fighting back; the article relates:

On Sept. 4, Kumar and Indrakla filed a private court complaint under the Code of Criminal Procedure over the attack and harassment they have faced.

They have also filed complaints to Scheduled Caste-Scheduled Tribe commission offices in New Delhi and Lucknow, as well as to the district superintendent of police, said Dinnanath Jaiswar, a Christian leader and social activist in Uttar Pradesh.

“Since these Hindu extremists came to know about the counter-complaint, they have targeted the family many times,” Jaiswar told Morning Star News. “Now the court has directed the police to investigate the threats and intimidation of the victims.”

The article says that Jaiswar had noted that "Christian families who are Dalits...face double discrimination for being both low status and followers of Christ."

In the face of pressure and opposition, we can hold fast to practicing our faith.  There is certainly concern in the Christian community about trends that could result in greater opposition to Christians practicing our deeply-held, Biblically-based beliefs.  Today, in fact, the U.S. Senate held its vote on legislation that would not only affirm what the Supreme Court did seven years ago regarding the definition of marriage, but go way further and set up regulations that would punish those who disagree.  While it is important to pray for our lawmakers, we can certainly continue to espouse and stand for the Biblical view of marriage.

This series of events also points out the antiquated caste system in India and it places people in certain classes; it's essentially a ranking based on social and economic factors.  Some people are more highly regarded than others - it's a contrast from the Biblical viewpoint that we are all equal in the sight of God, made in His image.  We should never look down on another person, but we should always be cognizant of loving others and seeking to affirm and encourage them, not endorsing bad behavior, but offering them the presence of Jesus, who can change a person from the inside.