"Wash One Another's Feet . . ."

One of the things which Raju feels God is leading him to do more frequently is bring the gospel to the Hindu people living around him. This is not an easy thing to do as there is not a lot of respect between people of different religions in his community. Raju and his family have been subject of harrassment and threats as the result of this religious tension. Earlier this month, Raju worked up his nerve and entered a local Hindu temple to talk with the leaders there about Jesus.

When he entered, those present recognized him as a local Christian teacher and demanded, "how dare you come here?" Raju says he was scared, but as he felt lead by God, he persisted and replied that he was there to share the truth of Jesus with them. He was met with hostility which culminated with the demand that he hold and wash the feet of an old man present. Just as in ancient times, the washing of another's feet is seen as a lowly, humiliating task that anyone with any standing will refuse to do. Raju says they presumed that his pride would get the best of him and his refusal would give them the excuse they needed to escalate the situation into physical violence. He says at this point, he genuinely feared for his life.

However, God provides for us where he leads us. Knowing that he was following in Jesus' footsteps in a very literal way, Raju eagerly and gently washed this old man's feet. He says that once he had done this, the men who were attempting to create a potentially dangerous conflilct with him were chastened. They dropped their hostility and listened to Raju's message.

Since this incident, Raju has remained in dialogue with the temple, even being allowed to give a lesson on the mind of Christ to students at their school. Today he says he is showing them how the truth of Jesus and his teachings can be found even in the Vedas of the Hindu faith.

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