Consider Jesus - FOCI | Friends of Christ in India

CONSIDER

JESUS








Lessons from the
Life and ministry of
An Indian Evangelist called

Azariah












David Johnson Rowe
This Book is Dedicated to Sister Mary Seethamma


Married at age 10, widowed at 12, Sister Mary found herself living the
lonely, outcast of life of India's widows. For all intents and purposes,
her life was over. When she sought solace in the Bible, she earned the
wrath and punishment of family and villagers. Her attempts at running away
and suicide only led to more brutality and isolation, eventually even to an
attempt on her life.

Finally, Mary Seethamma escaped to Father Devadas who had been
prepared for her through a dream. Like Azariah, Mary's relationship with
Father Devadas led to a lifelong ministry of evangelism and compassion.
Working as a team, Mary Seethamma has served God uniquely with a special
love for the elderly, the widows and the people of her own high caste
background who snubbed the gospel as being only for the deprived.

With patience, she drew her own family to Christ. With boldness, she
brought the love of Christ to those long deprived of any Good News. With
love, she has met the challenges and difficulties of a life given over to
God's use. To the neglected and rejected elderly folks at The Faith Home,
she has been a true daughter. To me, she has been a second mother. To rural
villagers, she has been like a "candle set upon the hill", bringing light
for all who wish to see.

Long ago, God intervened in her life with the message, "Save this
child for me. "The God who said "Save this child" has used her wisely to
save multitudes from every form of despair and hopelessness.
PROLOGUE


In the north of India, living in exile, is a man I have always wanted
to meet, The Dalai Lama. In the east of India is a woman I have long hoped
to meet, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I have settled for knowing these two
spiritual giants through their writings. The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader
of Tibet and the major force in Buddhism, writes eloquently about
compassion. I especially recommend his Policy of Kindness. Mother Teresa's
writings and her sayings, which line the walls at the Sisters of Charity
headquarters, always call the reader to more love. Both have won the Nobel
Peace Prize.

God's timing and purpose led me, instead, to a fascinating
relationship with a man called Azariah. He lives and serves God halfway
between The Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa. Azariah would be embarrassed to
be mentioned in the same sentence with such spiritual bright lights, but
they, I am sure, would be quite content to be mentioned in the same
sentence with Azariah. They would rejoice in the blend of compassion and
love which lives so effectively in his ministry. They would welcome the way
his deep personal faith can respectfully embrace the faiths of others in
the great spiritual landscape which is India.

A twenty-four hour train ride from Delhi in North India and another
twenty four hours from Calcutta, Azariah lives out his faith in Andhra
Pradesh. Andhra, one of the breadbaskets of India, is home to sixty million
people. Its capital, Hyderabad, was the center of a great Muslim Kingdom,
the last princely state to join the union of India.

Andhra Pradesh is my home away from home. I have children there that
Bonnie and I count as our own. Our ministry, in partnership with Azariah
and friends, is the most definite calling from God in my life. In many
ways, Andhra is a genuine microcosm of the world with all its hopes and
despairs. Hyderabad is a vital urban center, but the state is also a vital
rural economy. Hinduism, Islam and Christianity thrive in a spiritually
vibrant atmosphere that purposefully nurtures all while trying to avoid
threatening any. The geography is stark and beautiful, the land is fertile,
the political process is lively without being deadly, the daily struggle is
undertaken with dignity.

Is Andhra Pradesh heaven? No, but I consider it a worthwhile stopping
place on the way! In Andhra Pradesh, I found a style and capacity for
ministry that is a valuable case study for all who are engaged in ministry.
Out of the limelight, far off the tourist path, Gods love is served in
daily portions that we can both understand and copy. It is a model lived
out among the poor in a developing country where Christianity is a distinct
minority. But it is perfectly adaptable to the worldwide church as we all
seek to serve God in our own neighborhoods.

The Dalai Lama's compassion is not unique to Tibetan Buddhists. Mother
Teresa's love is not copyrighted for Albanian nuns serving in Calcutta.
They are qualities of God performed admirably by a few people who would
hope to see more people try them out.

Azariah lives those qualities out in daily ministry among one hundred
villages in the Khammam district of Andhra. When God opens Azariah's eyes
in the morning, what he sees in the hours ahead becomes his job
description. Homeless lepers living under a bridge, little children without
the resources to learn, old folks left to wander the streets, amputees one
leg short of being self-sufficient, patients too poor to afford health,
everyday people confounded by personal problems, people everywhere hungry
to know God in a personal way, low caste and high caste people lost in a
changing world, families with dowry burdens, people too poor to have decent
shelter, a village suffering from bad water, beggars and school children
and Rotary Club business leaders all doing their best. When Azariah begins
each day, they all become his church - his family in God.

I have worked in partnership with Azariah since 1983. He has been
colleague, mentor, friend, pastor, elder brother and teacher for me in a
thousand ways. In 1983, we began a small ministry together called FOCI,
Friends of Christ in India. At the same time, we initiated the first
Habitat for Humanity project in South Asia which stands today as one of the
most successful housing efforts in that part of the world. In addition to
FOCI and Habitat, Azariah has started, funded and/or arranged an incredible
variety of ministry covering every imaginable form of Evangelism and social
action.

Each and every effort has been carried out with great integrity. Each
and every dollar donated has been used with great care. His work is
testimony to good stewardship, personal integrity, lasting humility and
faithfulness to our loving God.

Amazingly, everything I have seen in Azariah's life and ministry is
relevant to, and reapplicable in our own lives and ministries. When we look
at the unknown heroes of faith, like Azariah, or to those whose spiritual
strengths have become known, like Mother Teresa, we are not looking for
hero-worship or a glimpse of sainthood. Instead, we should be looking for
inspiration for our own lives, for directions and guidance by which our own
spiritual journeys will be more fulfilling.

Mother Teresa has said,

Be kind and merciful. Let no one come to you without coming away
better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: Kindness in
your face, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting. We are
the light of God's kindness to the poor. To children, to the poor, to all
who suffer and are lonely, give always a happy smile. Give them not only
your care, but also your heart.

(pp.69, Something Beautiful For God, by Malcolm Muggeridge, Harper and
Row)

Azariah lives that kindness, giving his heart to any and all. If we
seek miracles in our ministries or personal lives, beginning with a person
of exceptional kindness is a good place to start.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION


I never anticipated the success of Consider Jesus. It was written
simply to tell the story of Azariah's life in such a way that readers would
apply the lessons of his life and ministry to their own. In the process,
people would learn the full story of our humble work in India, done
together with Azariah.

Who would read such a book? Self published, inexactly printed in
Bombay (now Mumbai), filled with typos and publishing mistakes, never to be
displayed in a book-store, it tells the story of a generally unknown
evangelist half way around the world written by an author with no sales
appeal.

The mailing list that supports our work in India has never been more
than 250, and Azariah's own list of supporters, mostly in England, is no
larger. Where was the market, who was the audience, what was the good? 3000
copies later we are amazed at how God has used this imperfect book.




. A US Congressman read it, went to India to see the work personally,
and ended up honoring Azariah in the House of Representatives.

. A woman gave a copy to her grand daughter who gave it to her Bible
College teacher, and the college sent a dozen students to work in
India for six weeks.

. A friend gave it to a man on death row, the last book he read
before his execution.

. Churches have used it for study groups to deepen their
understanding of mission.

. People have sent it to church leaders and missionaries in a dozen