A saint is anyone who loves and believes in Jesus. Just below is a saying of one such saint who loved Jesus very much. Saints come from every land and every people group—and one such saint from India was Sundar Singh. Like every true saint, he lived to tell others of his love for Jesus and to tell them of Jesus’ love for them. May his words, below, speak to you in the quiet of the day or night, or when you wonder about life’s purpose and your purpose here.
This saint was born in 1889 and died in the foothills of the Himalayas around 1929. Asked to sum up the message of his life, he gave this answer: “Once while traveling in a sandy region I was tired and thirsty. Standing on the top of a mound I looked for water. The sight of a lake at a distance brought joy to me, for now I hoped to quench my thirst. I walked toward it for a long time but could never reach it. Afterwards I found out that it was a mirage, only a mere appearance of water caused by the refracted rays of the sun. In reality there was none. In a like manner I was moving about the world in search of the water of life. The things of this world—wealth, position, honor, and luxury—looked like a lake by drinking of whose waters I hoped to quench my spiritual thirst. But I could never find a drop of water to quench the thirst of my heart. I was dying of thirst. When my spiritual eyes were opened I saw the rivers of living water flowing from Christ’s pierced side. I drank of it and was satisfied. Thirst was no more. Ever since I have always drunk of that water of life, and have never been athirst in the sandy desert of this world. My heart is full of praise for Him. His presence gives me a peace which passes all understanding, no matter in what circumstances I am placed. Amidst persecution I have found peace and joy. Nothing can take away what I have found in my Savior.” Sundar Singh lived to share this Good News about Jesus. But what is this “Good News?
“The Good Shepherd,” one of the oldest depictions of Jesus. It’s in Ravenna, Italy, painted around 450 AD.
The Gospel—the “Good News”—is that Jesus is the good shepherd who gave himself for His sheep—people like you and me. God sent Jesus into this embattled, tough old world because He loves you so much and wants to restore you to Himself. The Good News is that His Beloved Son was born into the world as a man—God became man—to take the penalty for all our injustices and crimes of heart, mind and deed upon himself. He was a substitutionary sacrifice—he died for the guilty as the only innocent man who ever lived; He died to atone for—to pay for—the sins of all the rest of us who are guilty. “God so loved the world”—and you and I are included as ones He loves—“that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him”—that He was God’s Son—“will not perish but have everlasting life!” (John 3:16). For saints, death is not the end!
You see, God is perfectly just and cannot let any wrongs go unpunished. But God’s justice was satisfied in Christ’s taking your place and mine on that tree (“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree [that is, on the cross]…”(I Peter 2:24). God so approved of Jesus Christ’s willingness to atone for our sins and to die for you and me! He raised Jesus from death to become the firstborn from the dead and he promised to come again! He is real and his love will last. Would you like to pray to God? You can, just like this: “Heavenly Father, I confess my sins to You. Forgive me for the wrongs I’ve done. Strengthen my faith. I trust in what Your Son, Jesus Christ, did for me on the Cross. I thank You that You don’t turn away anyone who comes to You. Amen.” You can become a saint: trust in Jesus!
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