Finding forgiveness
An idol worshipper discovers hope, forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Elisha puts the finishing touches on an idol.
“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”
Elisha stared at the words inscribed on the small card that had been pressed into his hands as he left the church that morning. It was the first time Elisha had ever attended a Christian worship service. Curiosity had drawn him into the building that New Year’s Day. But something else kept him glued to his seat in the back row, listening intently to the pastor talk about a God of love and forgiveness.
The words from Isaiah 49:16 shook Elisha to the very core. He earned a living as a sculptor, carving intricate Hindu idols. But none of these gods ever promised forgiveness. Elisha had never heard of a god who offered unconditional love like this God of the Bible.
The next day Elisha went to his workshop, where dozens of half-finished idols lay waiting for his attention. He shouted at them: “Can you speak?” But there was only silence. Elisha realized it was he who had made them — so how could they speak? How could he worship something he had made with his own hands?
Days passed, but Elisha could not get the words of the Bible verse out of his mind. “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...” As he walked past the Hindu temple on his way to work each day, Elisha’s misery deepened and his heart cried out to the lines of people waiting for their turn to worship the manmade figures inside.
Desperate for answers, Elisha picked up the Bible given to him by a relative many months earlier. The pages fell open to Jeremiah 1:8. “...I am with you and will rescue you.” But as Elisha looked back on his life, his heart sank. How could God rescue an arrogant, alcoholic, sinful man like him?
Poverty had forced Elisha to leave his village in Andhra Pradesh several years earlier and venture into the city. In Hyderabad, Elisha became skilled as an idol sculptor, and began sending money home to his mother and father who barely survived on their meager wages as agricultural laborers.
Elisha had made few friends in Hyderabad. Now, as he wrestled with doubts and questions, he had no one to turn to. Then he remembered the worship service. Hurrying to the church, he was relieved to find the same kindhearted pastor who had preached on New Year’s Day. Elisha poured out his troubles, asking the pastor what he should do.
Elisha shares the Gospel in his village.
The pastor shared the Gospel with Elisha, and read from Psalm 115:1-8. He told Elisha that God was calling him to serve, and asked him to stop making idols.
Elisha knew deep in his heart that the pastor spoke the truth. He left his job as an idol maker, and began attending church. Soon he accepted Jesus as his Savior. Until that day he had been known as Swaminadhan, but following a baptism ceremony he began his new life as a Christian with his new name - Elisha.
Ten years have passed since Elisha’s crisis of faith brought him to his knees before God. Today he is in his second year of training as a Mission India Church Planter, and is focusing his ministry on the Muslim community in Hyderabad. He has established a church with over 35 members, and baptized seven believers. He also works with youth through a Children’s Bible Club.
