We landed, and everyone seemed to be happy. Especially the yoga lady. She exclaimed, “Yay!” And a voice came from the back, “You see, God cares for you. Always pray in Jesus’ name.”
A voice came from the back, “You see, God cares for you. Always pray in Jesus’ name.”
And there wasn’t even a jerk on her face. She gladly accepted the advice.
It took a long time for me to decide whether to talk to her or not. When it comes to real life, I always found it hard to share my beliefs with non-believers. I feel I’m not ready to face confrontations (or hostility against Christianity). Hmm. So my mom did the talking.
“Are you still scared?”, my mom asked.
“I’m better now.”
“Is this your first time to India?”
“No. I’ve lived there for a year now.” She answered, still in her sweet voice.
“Oh, but where are you from? Do you like India?”
“New Zealand. No, it is so crowded and dirty here.”
“Then why do you stay here?”
“Well, you know I do yoga back in New Zealand. I’m a yoga teacher. And I teach yoga in the temples here.”
With us nodding, she smiled. And it was the time to leave the plane.
“Have you been to church before?” My mom asked, without judging her or anything.
“Yes, I grew up in a Christian family. I love God, I love Jesus. I think God has different names, so if you know Him by different names you will be closer to God.”
We soon said goodbyes. The yoga teacher moved on to her yoga life. And it really struck me that she thinks all gods are the same God. It struck me as she’s been to a church and yet she did not know God. And that she believed that all the religions in the world are the same.
The concept startled me. It sounds like a nice idea, that all gods are the same. All gods tell us to be nice people. If my friends ask me why I chose Jesus, what if I could just say ‘Oh, all gods are the same. Yours is fine too. Mine is just more Jewish.” It’d be nice not to have debates between religions.
But religion is not like fashion and clothing brands, or mobile phone brands. I don’t care if you think Samsung is better than Apple. Or Zara being more classic than H&M. It’s your choice, I don’t care. I may have my own preference over Samsung but I’d still gently tell you that iPhone is also good.
But when it comes to religion, I cannot be agreeable.
Can gods be the same? Is Jehovah God our creator a golden calf? Or does God require us to sacrifice sons and daughters on the altars? I highly doubt it. I can see Moses’ anger and sadness when he broke the tablets of stone. Why would God ask the Israrlites again and again not to follow the customs of Canaan? He said His name is Jealous. If God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” then I believe this is my boundary that can’t be crossed.
Traveling Mega
