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Women in India are sometimes kicked out by their Hindu husbands after coming to faith in Christ.
“My Bible is everything to me.
Without it, I can’t live.” | ||||
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When Poonam quietly left Hinduism in 2012 and placed her faith in Christ, her Bible immediately became her most prized possession. The young Indian wife and mother of three secretly read God’s Word in her home each day, growing in her understanding of God’s love for her. But she feared her husband would find out about her new faith, and he soon did. After overhearing her praying a Christian prayer one day, he found her Bible and angrily tore it to pieces. “From today on you stop reading the Bible, and as long as you live in this house you better not pray!” he threatened. When Poonam refused to stop praying to Jesus, her husband beat her and eventually kicked her out of the house, refusing to let her see their young sons and daughter. Following Jesus cost her everything. In India, a rise in persecution of Christians has paralleled the rise in Hindu nationalism. Bibles are a precious resource that helps new believers to grow in faith amid persecution.
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After losing her Bible and her family, Poonam stayed with relatives and prayed for the return of everything she had lost. A pastor and another believer who lived nearby visited Poonam regularly to pray with her. One day they gave her a new Bible provided by VOM, and she burst into tears of joy. Over time, God has answered Poonam’s prayers, restoring her marriage and family. Her husband has not yet placed his faith in Christ, but his heart has softened toward Poonam and toward the Christian faith. He has even attended church a few times to see how Christians worship. Poonam reads and studies God’s Word using her new Bible, but she refuses to give up the tattered, torn Bible that her husband tried to destroy. It is, after all, how she first learned about Jesus. “My Bible is everything to me,” Poonam said. “It is the living word of God. Without it, I can’t live.”
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