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17th February 2005 is the 4th death anniversary of my 'spiritual father' and guiding light of our mission, Richard
Wurmbrand. Most of our regular readers would know that he was the one who guided me into the mission for persecuted Christians
and blessed me to continue his vision wherever there is suffering.
Wurmbrand's life symbolized the true essence
of Christianity. His life was that of faith, suffering and love. For his faith he underwent immense persecution and suffering.
He endured 14 years in prison with intolerable torture. He was able to withstand this persecution due to his faith. And through
love, which is the cornerstone of Christianity he won over millions of hearts and even turned the coldest Communist heart
into that of a believer.
During his lifetime, he stood against the persecution of the Communists and strove to expose
the inhuman activities of the Iron Curtain nations. He made many enemies in trying to expose the truth and most of the people
in the free world did not believe him. Having been a victim of persecution himself, he helped millions to stand up against
the torture and worked for the downfall of Communism. And finally, when Communism collapsed people realized what Wurmbrand
had been preaching about was only half the truth. The ugly picture of Communism was much more sinister and shocking. But in
this battle, Wurmbrand never lost perspective of the fact that his fight was against the system and not against the people
who were Communists whom he always tried to win over with love.
Wurmbrand had a special love for India that was born
of an experience he had while in prison. I recall him relating this incident while preaching at Maramon, Kerala, India. During
his imprisonment, Wurmbrand met a young Roman Catholic seminarian who was dying. This young priest shared with his inmates
that it had been his vision to go to India and minister to the people there. But he was sure he was going to die and he was
sad that his dream would remain unfulfilled. He asked his fellow prisoners that if any of them became free they should go
to India and tell the Indian people his story. At the time, Wurmbrand never thought he would be free. But it was God's plan
to bring the story of this young seminarian through Wurmbrand. This was the beginning of his love for India.
Wurmbrand
visited India several times. With him, I set up the ministry for the persecuted church in India and traveled all over the
world. After the downfall of Communism, we have turned our focus on persecution in the Islamic world with special emphasis
on Saudi Arabia and Iran. Today, we salute the life of Richard Wurmbrand and pray that God rest his soul in peace.
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Dr.P.P.Job, "Tortured for Christ", Delhi, India
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