Reflections from Kashmir
- Pastor David Hillis
- Jul 7, 2008
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
as the waters cover the sea." – Habakkuk 2:14 & Isaiah 11:9
What an awesome thought to consider...could this prophecy, spoken by both Isaiah and Habakkuk centuries ago, actually come to fulfillment in our children's lifetimes, if not even ours?
In Matthew 24:14, Jesus said, "And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come." That word which is translated "nations" actually wasn't referring to political boundaries, but the people groups, the tribes of people who share a common culture, language, etc. For most of church history, there have been many, many people groups who had not had the Good News shared with them. Today however, thanks to the work of the Church worldwide, there are fewer and fewer people groups who have not heard. Translation projects are going on to bring the Bible to the remaining languages that do not have God's Word in their own language, and people are saying "yes" to the call to leave the creature comforts of home to move to some of the remaining remote corners of the globe to live among those who have not heard and share the Good News of God's love.
Although the work is advancing, the work is far from easy. Our India team learned that firsthand, in Kashmir and in other parts of the country, as we spent many days witnessing firsthand some of the work going on there.
There are 7.6 million Kashmiri Muslims who are still considered unreached, but in recent years a few families have moved into the area and are learning the languages (Urdu and Kashmiri) and learning the culture (what's offensive and not offensive to them when trying to build conversational bridges with them about their faith and the Christian faith). Meanwhile, while doing all of this, they are trying to be well known as followers of Christ while not be branded by the community as "missionaries," as this would lead to them being ostracized from the community rather than accepted, trusted and heard in the months and years to come.
As the Balti proverb goes (the Balti live in northern Kashmir and Pakistan, alongside the Gurjjar people), "Here, we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything – even die. The question is, among the Kashmiris, how long it takes to for a follower of Christ to get to the third cup?
Speaking of the Gurjjars, we also spent several days with those in the far northern reaches of Kashmir, India, near the Pakistani line of control, and served the Gurjjar (or Gujar) people. The Gurjjars number 4.2 million and live in and around the Himalayas of Kashmiri India, Nepal, and (mostly) Pakistan. They are a nomadic people and are far from being reached with the Good News of Jesus. Of those Gurjjars who live in Kashmir, there is only one lone believer, who came to Christ after helping with the translation of several Bible stories for a translation project in their language. He has been rejected by his family and the community, and those long-term workers who are there on the ground are fearful of spending time to disciple him because they too would be ostracized, and the years of work they have invested in building credibility among the Gurjjars in the region through serving them and being known as one who follows Christ (without openly proselytizing and creating anger/hostility) would be destroyed. How heartbreaking this was to witness!
Please keep the people of Kashmir in your prayers, and pray that we as a church might discover how we can help make an impact for Jesus in India.
To read some of the stories from our India trip log, and to see some pictures, you can go online to my personal website at www.hillises.info.
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