Come Closer
by Gabriela Phillips
Christianity is not one more religion in a market of religious ideas. To follow Jesus requires hearing his voice and saying yes to him. Isn’t that what he said? “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand!” The sheep are his, the voice is the voice of the Shepherd, and there is a relationship between them, and there is enough trust that the sheep follow Jesus, and Jesus makes sure they are provided for in every way.
What does that actually look like in the noisiest and busiest airport on the planet? Can the sheep hear his voice? And if Jesus calls people, what on earth are we supposed to do? What is the role of God and what is my role?
This story is still developing, but extensive enough to open a window to a new way to look at people who are non-Christians and that may seem a mystery to you.
Giselle is 21, and has been reading a real jewel by Nik Ripken, entitled The Insanity of Obedience, and was about to board the plane before asking God to speak to her. You see, if a sheep hears his voice it means that he is speaking…So she sat next to this middle aged Hindu man, who is a prominent businessman.
The conversation soon moved beyond the initial pleasantries to matters of eternal value. And Vikas seemed to be genuinely curious to know about the person of Christ. Before departing, Giselle suggested he watch The Chosen. Why? Because most people from other non-Christian world religions take their cues on Jesus from watching movies. Vikas did, he watched with intense interest every episode of the three seasons, and then he had a dream. He saw a man in white with long hair surrounded by light, the man pointed him forward and as he walked, he saw a tree, and to his surprise Giselle was there. Then the man in white said, “Come closer…”
He was puzzled, since the dream was around 3:30 he “knew” it was from God. God was calling him to come closer, why was Giselle there? Not his mother or father, nor a religious leader but Giselle. She wisely, pointed to him that this was no other than Jesus, and ask him if he was ready to follow him.
His answer came as a surprise. “Yes, I am a believer in Jesus and have been following him since my childhood but after meeting you the connection became stronger.” Giselle was puzzled to hear that a Hindu man would have such a devotion to Jesus. So she asked him, “Can you tell me what do Hindus know about Jesus from within your faith?” Here are his words, verbatim:
Jesus is mentioned in the most ancient Hindu scriptures called Vedas. These are religious texts written in Vedic Sanskrit language. There are 4 Vedas. In one of those Vedas name “Rigved” (first scripture) there is a mention of Christ without mentioning his name as Jesus, but Christ was referred to as who is God. In Hinduism, Jesus is regarded as “Isha” which means Lord which is often thought of as God.
Now, there are another set of books called Puranas.
There are total 18 puranas. In one of the purana called “Bhavishya” (Furure) purana (which contains number of future events), Jesus is mentioned by his name. He’s described as Isha Putra, the son(putra) of God (Isha). I’ve been exposed to a bit of it in school. So, as a child, I have remembered Jesus as God: someone who was killed, who suffered pain for his people, and performed healings. I had an idea of his miracles growing in India as a child, so I worshipped him as a child. He’s a central figure among Hindus, so while I am aware of the gods in Hinduism, I’ve also worshiped Jesus among them. Just thinking of Jesus gives me a lot of happiness and peace. And it’s not like I worship him because he gives me what I need. I’d think about him regardless of if I’m happy or sad. My devotion isn’t conditional.
Cornelius was also a God-fearer, he had a knowledge of God, but God sent Peter to him to clarify the truth about who God is and to connect him with others who were also followers of the risen Messiah. Cornelius had heard the voice of the master before Peter even showed up. Nevertheless, God had a role for his servant to lead him to all truth. Giselle, now has to introduce Vikas to the Jesus of the Gospel. In the process, some of the misunderstandings about the uniqueness of Jesus will challenge unbiblical assumptions that Vikas inherited from his faith and culture. This is a process, but what is reassuring is that Jesus is the caller, and Giselle is the assistant.
Gabriella DePhillips serves as Director of Adventist-Muslim Relations for the North American Division of SDA.
