Slumdog Millionaire was 2009 Picture of the Year and winner of 8 Academy Awards. It is the story of a teen from the slums of India who goes on that country's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and knows the answers to the questions as a result of his life experiences. Or at least that's the short version.
Anyway, this morning at church, our missions pastor told of his experiences in the slums of India where he recently visited.
He spoke of Pastor James, a man that was kidnapped by the authorities, jailed and beaten. Pastor James eventually was able to get a note to a maintenance worker who told his family where he was being held. A group from the church got together, marched on the police station and demanded his freedom.
On the evening of the third day (imagine that?), Pastor James was released, his face puffy, bruised and bloodied from interrogation tactics. Well, our missions pastor went to visit Pastor James the day after he was released, to share some words of encouragement. As the driver pulled up to the house, he said, "Oh, no." Not because something was wrong, but because Pastor James had set up a stage with lights across the street to take advantage of the foreigners' presence to show that he had a message that could not be stopped.
Another story described a church that is to be bulldozed in a month. Some members of a higher caste are building some high rises next to the church and they are going to clear away the squalor of the neighboring slums. A church bought and paid for with wedding rings, heirlooms and other valuable jewelry is going to disappear, but still they meet.
Slumdog millionaires indeed. These people need no game show because they are already rich beyond measure. They are spiritual millionaires and I imagine that when it comes to storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21), their barns are overflowing while mine looks rather unused.
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