Discovering SADHU SUNDAR SINGH

I bought a book a while back that I am only now beginning to enjoy. (It has been sitting on my bookshelf for years...)

I've heard it said: "When we are ready to learn, we will find a teacher."

This must be my time!

The book, Devotional Classics, is a collection of excerpts from famous Christian writings through the ages (edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith, two university professors).

It has excerpts from Christians I have never heard of, as well as many whose names are familiar. Hoping to fill in the pieces in my knowledge of church history, I purchased the book....

Leafing through its pages today, my eyes caught the name Sadhu Sundar Singh. That is a name I have never heard of - but from my years of teaching immigrants, I recognized Singh as a surname of people from India who are of the Sikh religion... So I was intrigued: A Sikh Christian?

Sadhu Sundar Singh (1989-1933), was a young Sikh who embraced Christianity after he discovered Jesus - much like Saul of Tarsus did in the New Testament - through a vision.

A fervent young man, he had been avidly anti-Christian, destroying Christian writings. In his religious quest, he decided to kill himself - unless God intervened. If God wanted him to live, he reasoned, God would have to stop him. After three days alone in his room praying, he gave himself (and God) a 5 am deadline. But at 4:45, to his surprise, Jesus appeared in a vision. (Surprise, because he had been expecting one of the gods of India!)

His life changed: He became an itinerant Christian minister, and was last seen on the road to Tibet.

The excerpts from his writings found in Devotional Classics come from the book, With and Without Christ. They show a learned, sensitive man. I'd like to share a few:

It is very difficult to explain the deep experience of the inner life. As Goethe has said: "The highest cannot be spoken." But it can be enjoyed and put into action. This is what I mean. One day, during my meditation and prayer, I felt his presence strongly. My heart overflowed with heavenly joy. I saw that in this world of sorrow there is a hidden and inexhaustible mine of great joy of which the world knows nothing, because even those who experience it are not able to speak of it adequately and convincingly.

Elsewhere, he compares God-seekers to insects:

As some insects with their antennae feel their surroundings and distinguish between hurtful and useful things, so spiritual people, through their inner senses avoid dangerous and destructive influences and enjoy God's sweet and life-giving presence...

Intrigued, I am now adding the books of Sadu Sundar Singh to my list of books to read... Like so many books I'm hunting for these days, they may be out-of-print!