How the Gospel
makes a difference

In India you can almost tell by the look of a person whether he or she is Christian or not. Christians are usually well-dressed even if they are poor. And Christian communities are generally better organised and more disciplined than others. Christians in general seem to feel a greater sense of responsibility towards their neighbours than do Hindus. They take care of the elderly and ill amongst them, of homeless people and orphans, and they make education a high priority.

Christians deem it an obligation to be a Christian not only in the sight of God, but also towards your neighbour and yourself. That is why India’s healthcare and education systems owe so much to Christian pioneers. In other words, the Gospel makes a great difference: on one hand it is a message of liberation, and on the other an incitement to work at getting the best out of life.

Take Devaraj Paramesh for example. Standing in front of the Christian Mission Service (CMS) Deacons’ Home, neatly tucked in between the tea plantations in the cool heights of the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, he describes his early life.

“My father died when I was three months old,” he says. “Our family suffered a lot, so my mother felt it best to remarry. My stepfather treated my brother and me cruelly from the beginning. We were starved and denied shelter and clothing. We were forced to work from morning to evening and were often severely beaten.

“One day my stepfather broke my leg, and when the open wounds began to smell, he kicked me out of the house and I was forced to live in the cowshed. In order to survive my brother and I had to beg, and when my stepfather discovered what we were doing, he decided to kill us.

Bound and gagged

“He bound and gagged us and stuffed us into a bag. And just as he was about to throw us into a well, some Christian sisters came by and asked him what he was doing with the wriggling bag. He realised he had been found out and ran away.”

As Devaraj goes on, his strong, handsome face lights up. “The sisters helped us to get to the CMS Children’s Home (see article) in Dharmapuri and the love and care I received here transformed my life. Gradually I came to Christ and accepted him as my Saviour. Now I am studying theology at the Bible College and I have decided to become a deacon so that I can share God’s love with children who have suffered as I did.”

Devaraj’s attitude is typical: many of the teachers at the CMS Deacons’ Home – and many of the evangelists, pastors, nurses and doctors who serve in Indian Christian missions and institutions – were themselves brought up in Christian children’s homes. The Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Auxiliary of the Bible Society of India (BSI), Dr D S Ebi Samuel spent his youth at the CMS Deacons’ Home.