Time with a Brother

Last Wednesday a brother and I had a time of fellowship over lunch with a senior brother and his wife at McDonald's, in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. This brother is a living example of a serving one who remains faithful from the very beginning of his serving in the literature to date. In fact, he is the one through whom the ministry has come to India many years ago. It is grace to be able to serve together with my brother, though he is my father's age and much more experienced and senior and elder than me.

The first time I met him was when I was a student in MCC, Chennai. I came in touch with the saints in the church life and his son-in-law picked me up by an autorickshaw and took me to the Gospel Book Room where this brother was a manager then. The first time I visited the book room, I was introduced to him and the ministry literature. My innate response in visiting the book room was that I purchased all the English titles available in Indian print. A box of books I purchased and paid the price for it too. Those books later became eye-opening books for me to see the vision of God's economy gradually. Never did I ever imagine that one day, I would be co-laboring with our dear brother in the same literature service. In fact, after four years the Lord brought me into the literature service, and another four years after, I was further brought into the coordination of the entire literature service all over India with him and a couple of other brothers.

Deep within my being I always respect and honor him as my elder brother in the Lord and in the service. For every official matter, I always took his words seriously. In fact, when I first came into the literature service,  he encouraged me to travel and distribute the ministry books from state to state, city to city, town to town, and village to village. I took his words as the Lord's speaking and commit them to the Lord in prayer that it become true in my service. Then, I began to travel all over the country as he said, state to state, city to city, town to town, and village to village, introducing and distributing the ministry literature and also ministering the word of God. By the Lord's grace and mercy and blessing, all the states in India have been visited for the ministry literature distribution. What grace and what blessing to be in such a service ordained and blessed by the Lord serving together with a brother like him and others.

His life itself is a testimony. His children are all in the service of the Lord. In fact, all his children with their spouses are serving the Lord actively. I consider this itself a great blessing from the Lord. The Lord blessed His serving ones, including all their families and the generation following them. To such a one, as a serving in the coordination of the service, I genuinely felt good and expressed it to him and his family members as well that as much as the Lord graces the literature service, we would take care of his financial need and that he need not worry about his service per se. To me, this is the practical way to honor such a faithful brother. 

May the Lord bless him with long life, good health, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and be a pattern to the young generation.