Even after he was beaten & left for dead, a young man urges villagers to trust Jesus

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (Christian Examiner) – Raji was celebrating an engagement in his village when he noticed Suta had come back to distribute more pamphlets, even though Raji told him no one wanted to hear his message.

When Raji confronted Suta, shouting that he and his village was Hindu, the young man simply said, "If I didn't come, who would tell you about Jesus?"

A short film from the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) tells the story of how Raji and his wife came to believe in Jesus. It was all because the young Christian man kept returning.

Enraged at Suta's persistence, Raji and the men of his village began to punch and kick Suta. "We don't want your Jesus!" Raji shouted.

The men carried the unconscious Suta to a pit outside the village and left him for dead.

But that night, Raji was upset by not knowing if Suta was alive or dead. He felt horrified by the violence he had done and, at his wife's encouragement, went back out to check on the young man.

Finding Suta alive, Raji carried him home, where he and his wife cared for Suta's wounds and bruises.

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

When Suta was well enough, Raji let him leave. "If his God is real, he will watch over him," Raji realized.

Four days later, Suta came back. His faithfulness to his calling worked to soften Raji's heart. He and his wife became believers and now attend church with Suta as their pastor.

"When you pray for the persecuted, please remember to also pray for those who persecute. For us, it may be the only way we will see the love of God," Raji says at the end of the film.

VOM says when it asks persecuted Christians how it can help, their first request is for prayer. VOM made "Suta" to raise awareness for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, observed this past Sunday, Nov. 1, and to encourage Christians to pray for the persecuted and the persecutors around the world.

"I am a simple man, and without prayer, I am nothing," Suta said.