Today we visited the Waheedabad colony in Rawalpindi. This is a very poor area and is indicative of many of the slums that Christians in Pakistan have to live in. Quite simply, the drainage is awful and the stench is overpowering. There is no doubt whatsoever, that disease and sickness will be rife here, leading to a much lower life expectancy. One has to wonder where all the aid money sent by foreign governments goes when you see a spectacle like this.
Despite this, we receive a warm welcome and the worship is passionate and vibrant. They have a smallish hall, which is filled to the brim and it is quite a crush to get in, but we manage it. It is clear that the congregation have been eagerly anticipating this for some time and it shows as they are all smiles as we begin the service.
I preach from 1 Corinthians 3, emphasising the need for unity and how we should be careful not only to ally ourselves with different preachers, who may appear good or sound and look the part, but have no substance from the scriptures that points to real salvation through Jesus Christ. The Pakistan Christian community is very divided over here, there are too many churches with self-made pastors who have had no Bible training, leading to ignorance of scripture and what the Christian faith entails. All too often the world finds itself in the church and not the other way round, we have the same problem in the West increasingly and it’s troubling.
I exhort to them, that all is theirs in Christ and that if Christ is all they have, then Christ is all they need. Sadhu Sundar Singh when talking to a Hindu professor, was asked what new doctrine he found in his new religion. The Sadhu replied he had found Christ, when asked again, he gave the same reply, he found Christ. It is a relationship we have with Christ not a legalistic obedience.
We give out some Bibles after prayer and it is good to see when asked, that many households do indeed possess a bible. The congregation enjoyed the meeting and have expressed a wish that we return in the future. Please pray that this community though gets much needed development to its infrastructure, as there is no proper drainage here leading to disease and infestation. This is a shame on Pakistan, considering we are right next to the capital. May God bless you and keep you always.
Brother Leighton
