Why I Believe

I was born in a Hindu Brahmin family. My mother, Jayanthi, was a pious lady and she religiously offered daily prayers to several images of gods and goddesses in our house. I remember as a little child, I and my sister used to sit beside her early in the Tuesday and Friday mornings, watching her chant the mantras and sing the bhajans (slogans).

We did not miss a single festival – these were times of great celebrations. Our balcony, corridor and entrance were filled with lights – light from the diyas (candles). There was so much fun - new dresses, relatives and friends at home!

We had all that we wanted in life. Both my parents were working in a bank. My grandparents took good care of us, when our parents were away at work. We were financially able to look after ourselves in the expensive city of Mumbai. But in spite of having everything and despite persistent prayers, my mom felt something was missing – the peace she was longing for. 

Things went on. Amidst several health problems that my mom faced, she learnt to be grateful for what she was and for what she had. 

Towards the fall of 1997, there was a dramatic turn of events. My father, Jayaraman, got acquainted with a new colleague in his office. This colleague had accepted Christ after being born in a non-believing family. She began sharing about Christ and about her personal salvation experience. And, she also presented a Bible to my dad. He brought home the Bible – the first ever time a book of Christian faith entered my house. And quite obviously, that triggered a cascade of strong oppositions, particularly from my religious mom. Every time, my father began sharing about the love of Christ that he heard through his colleague, my mom would yell and fight. 

There was a gradual transformation in my dad’s life. Slowly he realized he had been wrong in what he worshipped all these years. The 33 crore gods and goddesses are but only idols made by human hands. Who on earth has the power to create God who created us? The man-made idols have no eternal significance and are worshipped only to satisfy the religiously thirsty human heart.

My father began to shun away from the poojas. And he boldly removed the sacred thread that is considered an asset of every Brahmin male. A Brahmin boy gets the privilege of wearing the sacred thread after Upanayanam, a special thread ceremony. 

He began reading the Bible every day. Problems, quarrels and fights mounted in our house. All the time, my mother would sit and cry. As a teenage girl, that affected me badly. There was no peace in the family. 

And there were reasons why my mother got worried. How can she give up something she believed in for so many years? How can she so easily let go of the heritage of her faith? What explanation could she give to people who would ask her? She could not digest the fact that her husband will now be a follower of Christ.

I could not understand what was going on. All that I was thinking was just this - why so much of turmoil in a peaceful family? But little did I realize, God was actually drawing us with bands of love!

While this kept continuing, my dad started to attend a church nearby. I and my sister were excited at the thought of going to a church, a place that we had never been before.

I vividly remember my first day at the church. New place, new people, new songs, new teachings and preaching – still it was so heavenly, so peaceful. I understood nothing that Sunday morning. I understood neither the songs nor the sermon. But in spite of not understanding or knowing anything, I liked it. I loved being in church, for reasons unknown. Every Sunday, after attending the NCC class in my school in the morning, I got ready and attended the church. 

Three of us – I, dad and sister – sat together in the evenings and began to pray to Jesus – the true God. We did not know how to pray. Like a little child, we spoke to Jesus whatever we knew. We specially began to pray for our mom.

One night, as usual, my mother was crying, and as tears flowed through her eyes, she made this silent prayer. She said, “I don’t know who is the true God. I was brought up to believe that the idols we prayed to were true and powerful. And now I hear a totally different thing. Whichever God is true, please reveal yourself to me” and she went to sleep.

As she was sleeping, in the wee hours of the morning, on August 30, 1998, exactly at 3.00 am, something amazing happened. She heard the voice of the one and only true God. Yes, she did! 

And the voice whispered in her ears, in Tamil, “The Spirit of God has chosen your house”. Not once, but thrice. The voice was loud and clear, bold and authoritative, loving and assuring. And interestingly, these words kept echoing in her ears even after she got up in the morning.

The next day morning, on August 31, yet again, something miraculous happened. My mom was cooking in the morning, before leaving for work, still perplexed about the voice she heard the previous morning. She cut the potatoes into halves and boiled them. When she took them out of the vessel and began peeling one by one, she saw a word written over the skin of one potato “you.” She searched the other half excitedly to find out what this was. And when she found the other half of the same potato, there were words written there too. That read, “I love.” 

Despite boiling, the ink did not fade away. It was crystal clear - 'I love you'. Wow! Is it God speaking to her again? Is God confirming His love to her? At least, that's how she felt. She felt the affirmation that this was from God. Her long-shed tears were being answered. Eager and impatient, she shared that with us. New joy in our family after a long, long time! “Definitely Jesus is confirming that He loves you,” my dad exclaimed.

But that's not the end of the story. Next day, yet another miracle! In the evening of September 1, 1998, as usual, three of us began to pray. My dad prayed, “Lord, if it is really you who have written those words over the potato, I want a confirmation from the scripture. You must explicitly convey to me that those words are not written by ink” and he began to read the Bible. 

How astonishing are the ways God speaks to His people! He was reading the Bible for the very first time and his portion for that day was 2 Corinthians, chapter 3. As he began, he stumbled upon vs 3, that reads, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3).

“Written not with ink,” the very thing that my dad prayed for. That verse was enough to speak to each one of us. The very same day, as a family, we accepted Jesus as our Saviour and we gave ourselves to serve the living God.

Life took a new turn. Now, we have peace – the peace that surpasses all understanding. Personally, I could see God’s hands in my life. I found a new purpose and meaning to my existence.

Things were not easy. Many of our relatives and friends could not accept this change in our lives. Many rejected us. But honestly, that did not bother us. Jesus was all sufficient for us. He led us through remarkably. Several miracles followed! Jesus who held our hands that day is leading us faithfully, till today.

Christ is the only way to eternal life. He took the human form and died as a propitiation for our sins. He died on the cross and was raised the third day. He is the only source for true joy, hope and peace.

Christ is not only the God of Christians; He is the God of all mankind. Even other scriptures point out to Christ as Prajapati, the Saviour of mankind. Rig Veda talks against worshipping of idols. But how many of our brothers and sisters take time to read their own Vedas?

Being born and brought up in Hindu Brahmin family, today I and my family know that Christ is the only way to heaven. He is the one and the only true God. In Christ, we have found true joy and satisfaction, a life worth living, and a real Father who loves us so much more than we could ever love Him. We experienced Him in our hearts and are witnesses to Him. We now know the difference between worshipping the creations and the Creator.

In this 21st century, let us not be carried away by traditions and beliefs handed over to us by our forefathers. Let us not be spiritually blinded, but rather search for true God. Sceptics may argue the validity of Scripture or reason the existence of God, but no one can deny our personal experience with God. When my mom asked true God to reveal Himself to her, He did. You too can ask the one true God to intervene in your lives.

Rev 3: 20, Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

May God bless you!

­-- Sunitha Justin