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““Thou art called, and hast professed a good confession before many witnesses.’’—1 Timothy vi. 12.
As Sundar sat in the train the thought came to him that in Ropur there was a little colony of Christians— some from Rampur, whither they had fled when persecution made life impossible in their own village—and so stepping out of the train he made his way to the house of the kind Indian pastor and his good wife. It was by the providence of God that Sundar did this, for very soon after his arrival he fell violently ill and a physician had to be called in. Then it became known that a deadly poison had been mixed in the food given him before leaving home. It was not the intention of his friends that they should be degraded in the eyes of the world, but rather that he should die in the train. All that night the good pastor’s wife sat by his side waiting for the end to come, for the physician pronounced the case hopeless and departed with the promise to come in the morning to the funeral.
Sundar lay in mortal pain with blood flowing from his mouth and his strength ebbing fast. But as he lay, there came to him the profound belief that God had not called him out of darkness to die without witnessing to his faith in Christ, so he began to pray with all his remaining powers. When morning came he was still alive, though exceedingly weak. The physician came according to his promise and was amazed to find the boy alive. So deeply impressed was he ‘that he took a copy of the New Testament and began to study it. In this way the physician himself became a believer in Christ, and to-day is working as a missionary in Burma.
Sundar’s friend, in taking the same step, received similar treatment, for his relatives also offered him poisoned food to eat. While Sundar lay between life and death his friend’s short but heroic witness to the power of Christ came to an end, and he passed to the presence. of his Redeemer to be “ for ever with the Lord.”
When Sundar was sufficiently strong to undertake the short journey to Ludhiana he went back to the kind care of the American missionaries there. Whilst there several attempts were made by his relatives to get him away, and. violence was used on one of these occasions, so that the police had to be called in to quell the disturbance. But the most trying occurrence to Sundar was when his aged father came to make a last appeal in the hope of drawing him away. The sight of the father’s stricken face and figure made a deep impression on the boy, and as the old man spoke of the great love of his mother and happy days of his childhood, there passed in fleeting panorama before Sundar’s mind all the happiness of his old home, and the love that had sheltered his early days. His tears scorched his cheeks, whilst a mighty struggle went on in his heart. But he was not left to struggle alone, for One stood by him and reinforced his soul’s resolve to take up his cross and follow Him. As his father turned to go away the last great sacrifice was made, and Sundar stood as he does to-day—stripped of all that life can offer but accepted of his Lord. These long months, so full of trial and hardship, had been a supreme test, and every fresh sorrow only added sweetness and firmness to the character of this remarkable boy.
After these events it became necessary for Sundar to go away where he would be protected from his enemies, and he was sent to the American Medical Mission at Sabathu, a small place twenty-three miles from Simla, where he was free from persecution, and able to give his mind completely to the study of his beloved New Testament. Set free from all earth’s ties, he became inereasingly anxious to confess Christ by baptism. Again and again he begged that he might be allowed to take this step, and eventually on his birthday, September 3, 1905, the Rev. J. Redman baptized him in the Church of England at Simla. Next day Sundar returned to Sabathu, and knowing that he was “ buried with Him in baptism . . . risen with Him through faith ” (Col. ii. 12) his heart was filled to overflowing with happiness. The weary struggles of the past months faded in the presence of this new joy of bearing the name of the dear Master for whom already he had suffered so much.
His heart now became filled with a burning desire to make known to others the Saviour to whom he had given himself so unreservedly, and with eager joy he began to look forward to the great work to which his life was to be dedicated. During the hard days of his search after God Sundar had made a vow that if God would lead him into peace he would sacrifice all that life could offer him. And now the day had come when he could make an utter self-surrender for Jesus Christ. He had long felt drawn to the life of a sadhu, and knowing what such a life involved, he willingly made the final sacrifice for it. His books and personal belongings were soon disposed of, and on October 6, 1905, just thirty-three days after his baptism, he adopted the simple saffron robe that was to mark him off for all time as one vowed to a religious life. With bare feet and no visible means of support, but with his New Testament in his hand and his Lord at his side, Sadhu Sundar Singh set out on the evangelistic campaign that has lasted to this day. ~