Meeting Jesus in a Vision

Here is the testimony of Sundar Singh (1889-1929), a Hindu of Rampur, in the Indian Punjab who, as a young man, despaired so of life that he cried out to God to show himself. In that encounter he became a Christian:

I prayed and prayed, waiting for the time to take my last walk. At about 4:30 I saw something strange. There was a glow in the room. At first I thought there was afire in the house, hut looking through the door and windows, I could see no cause for the light.

Then the thought came to me: perhaps this was an answer from God. So I returned to my accustomed place and prayed, looking into the strange light. Then I saw a figure in the light, strange but somehow familiar at once. It was neither Siva nor Krishna nor any of the other Hindu incarnations I had expected.

Then I heard a voice speaking to me in Urdu: “Sundar, how long will you mock me? I have come to save you because you have prayed to find the way of truth. Why then don’t you accept it?”

It was then I saw the marks of blood on his hands and feet and knew that it was Jesus, the one proclaimed by the Christians. In amazement I fell at his feet. I was filled with deep sorrow and remorse for my insults and my irreverence, but also with a wonderful peace.

This was the joy I had been seeking. This was heaven ... Then the vision was gone, though my peace and joy remained.

~ from Clouds of Witnesses: Christian Voices from Africa and Asia by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom.