SADHU SUNDAR SINGH and a companion were travelling through a pass in the Himalayas when they came across a body lying in the snow. They found he was barely alive. Singh wanted to stop and help the man but his companion refused, saying they would lose their own lives if they burdened themselves with him. Sundar Singh could not leave the man to die, so he bade his companion farewell.
After doing what he could for the stranger, Singh lifted the man onto his back to carry him. With great exertion, he pushed forward.
Gradually, the heat from Singh’s body began to warm the near-frozen body of the stranger and he revived. Before long, both were able to walk side by side, stopping occasionally to encourage each other. Before long, they caught up with the former companion, lying in a heap. He was dead; frozen by the cold.
The companion had sought to save his own life and lost it. Sundar Singh was willing to lose his life on behalf of another, and in the process he found it.
Matthew 16:25
[also Mark 8:36. Matthew 10:39. Luke 9:24]
Jesus said:
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:
and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.
Who was Sadhu Sundar Singh?
Sundar Singh was born into a Sikh family in the village of Rampur (Punjab state) in northern India. Sundar Singh’s mother took him to sit at the feet of a sadhu, an ascetic holy man, who lived in the jungle some miles away, while also sending him to Ewing Christian High School, Ludhiana, to learn English.
The death of Sundar Singh’s mother, when he was fourteen, pitched him into violence and despair. He took out his anger on the missionaries, persecuted Christian converts, and ridiculed their faith. In final defiance of their religion, he bought a Bible and burned it page by page in his home while his friends watched.
Sundar felt that his religious pursuits in Sikhism and the questioning of Christian and Hindu priests left him without ultimate meaning. Sundar resolved to kill himself by throwing himself upon a railroad track. That very night he had a vision of Jesus who opened Sundar’s soul to the truth. Sundar announced to his father, Sher Singh, that henceforth he would follow Christ. His father denounced him, and his brother Rajender Singh attempted to poison him. Sundar’s life was saved by the help of a nearby Christian community. On his sixteenth birthday, he was publicly baptised as a Christian in the parish church in Simla, in the Himalayan foothills.
In October 1906, he set out on his journey as a new Christian. “I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord,” he said, “but, like Him, I want no home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all men of the love of God.”
Sundar Singh’s ministry widened greatly, and long before he was thirty, his name and picture were familiar all over the Christian world.
Matthew 16:25
[also Mark 8:36. Matthew 10:39. Luke 9:24]
Jesus said:
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:
and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.
If I am a blood-bought, adopted child of the living God, through faith in the finished work of Christ on Calvary, I no longer have the right to run my own life. If I do, I miss out on the greatest blessings of allowing the Lord to live through me.
(note: this is NOT referring to eternal life which is ONLY available by grace, through faith, but to the Christian life lived here and now. We CANNOT ‘earn’ eternal life!)
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in you and was given to you by God?
You do not belong to yourself,
for God bought you with a high price.
Who is in control of your life – you or God?
Who would do a better job?
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MEETING IN THE CLOUDS 
What an amazing story of how a life can be transformed by God’s love! Thanks, Angela for sharing it with us.
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Thanks Deb. We serve an amazing God who chooses to do amazing things through His own blood-bought, adopted children.
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Reblogged this on Lillie-Put and commented:
To walk with Him is to live for Him!
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Thanks for the reblog JE.
I love your quote there.
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:)
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The life surrendered to Christ is a daily walk that can only be carried out as an extensiion of the grace which saves. I am so thankful that when my God called me He did not just save me for Heaven but He sanctified me and sanctifies me daily for this life on Earth. Even in the midst of life’s greatest battles this work of Christ in me is my continuing joy!
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Pity help us if we were left to our own devices! How useless we would be!
Praise God that He continues His work in us and for the guarantee that He will bring us to perfection. Meanwhile, may we all be faithful to the ministries to which He has called us.
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Amen!
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Good post! Have you heard Ravi Zacharias speak? He’s an Indian version of C.S.Lewis, and very easy to follow. Try and listen to him on UCB if you get a chance.
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Angela, one of your best posts. It reminds of an Indian teacher often heard onCchristian radio stations. Have you heard Ravi Zacharias speak? He’s like a modern C.S.Lewis.
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I haven’t heard him on radio (funny that, since I don’t listen to radio) but I have a book of his quotes and devotions.
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This is an excellent example of how the Lord can use us abundantly when we stay open to His leading. Sharing the Gospel can be done in so many ways. I am so thankful that God can still use me in spite of — or maybe because of — my illnesses that keep me home more often than not. To Him be the Glory!
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Amen Anna. I agree. When our circumstances change, our God doesn’t, but He uses our new circumstances to His glory, giving us different ministries and enabling us to continue loving and serving Him.
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Each of us touches lives of others, when we surrender ourselves to Love. Thank you for that wonderful story, a real inspiration of courage and conviction, selflessness and surrender.
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His story is indeed an inspiration and challenge to us. When we consider all the Lord has done, we can only respond with a heart of love and obedience.
What an amazing privilege it is to be used by Him in His service!
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What a wonderful testimony… ” “I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord,” he said, “but, like Him, I want no home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all men of the love of God.”
May we all share in this attitude and be willing to give of ourselves for those in spiritual, and physical, need. Thank you Angela for the words of encouragement and strengthening. Lord bless you
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We are not all called to do just what he did. We have family responsibilities . . . BUT . . . we are all called to be His disciples, following our Lord, sharing with those we meet and telling all of the love of God. May we all be faithful to our calling, and be lights in this world of darkness.
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