Poor

There was a pressing need that brought Vijay Babu into ministry.

Vijay Babu is a Dalit in India, Dalits are also sometimes called “the untouchables” because they are not fit to be touched by people in higher casts. The cast system in India is based off of a factor of Buddhism, re-incarnation: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaisays are cast types for supposedly re-incarnated people. Which cast they get to be has to do with how close they got to enlightenment in their “past life”. Enlightenment which basically means ridding “wants” from their lives. Dalits are not the Sudras on the diagram, they are below the sudras, not even on the chart. Even among the Dalits there are different levels, but the lowest of the low are Christian Dalits, Vijay Babu is a Christian Dalit.
For Vijay Babu, the call to “ministry” came naturally, easily. There were orphaned Dalits who would probably die without someone taking them in, its screaming obvious that he should help these dying kids. Vijay runs an orphanage in India with 50 kids, the monthly support provided by American churches does not meet the money that is needed to run the orphan home, but miraculously the money is provided. While Vijay was at my house something came up, $2000 dollars was needed for school tuition for the orphans, while $2000 was needed to pay the pastors who work with them- all they had was $2000, Vijay told his wife “go ahead and pay the pastors, we still have ten days to pay tuition” ten days later, on the day he received $2030 in a love offering in Canada. He lives by faith, God is always providing for him. I don’t think of Vijay’s Dalits as poor, they are seeing Jesus every day! As often as they see a meal, they see a miracle! though im not saying that financial support for Vijay Is a bad idea, this man sold his wedding ring for money for the orphans, God has given us an opportunity to love some of our brothers overseas.

There was a pressing need that brought Vijay into ministry, And I think there is a need calling us to ministry, but it doesn’t press as hard. I’ve been thinking, that people who have not met God in Canada and India, go to the same hell. So why is the “need” more pressing in India? Is it because it is more obvious?

Maybe the poor are not always the people with empty wallets and no homes, I think the poor are the hurting people with no hope, because they are poor in the things that really matter. So I’ve been thinking that maybe the poor are just as likely to be wearing suit jackets as they are to be wearing a dirty coat.