Sandesh: From Thief to Jesus-Follower
Now in high school, Sandesh is being raised by his grandmother, Kunjan. Initially, he was told that his parents had died in a car accident, but later, he discovered that his mother had died giving birth to him, and his father left him behind to marry again and start a new family.
Kunjan looks at Sandesh and sees her one and only daughter. She has always done her best to provide for him. Sandesh was a carefree boy who loved movie stars. He dreamed about being famous, too. His favorite actor played a thief in a movie, which gave Sandesh the idea to steal. He began taking small things, like pens and pencils, at school. Every time he stole, and didn’t get caught, Sandesh was thrilled.
His friends and neighbors began to worry when Sandesh was around, fearing they would have to search for their missing things. Sandesh’s stealing got so out of hand that he couldn’t sleep unless he had stolen something that day. Slowly, his behavior impacted his schoolwork, and he began roaming the streets with other kids who had similar bad habits.
Kunjan worried about Sandesh’s character, especially now that he was a teen. Fortunately, the leader of a local Year-Long Children’s Bible Club and a friend of Kunjan’s invited Sandesh to the Bible Club. When Sandesh joined, he immediately began looking for things to steal. Soon, the other children complained about him taking their sports equipment.
When Kunjan heard this, she felt ill and asked if the Bible Club leader would speak with Sandesh. The Bible Club leader saw the troubled side of Sandesh and began praying for him to change. She also took the time to mentor him when she could.
One day, the Bible Club leader talked to the children about how the Lord sees everything. Even though we cannot see God, He is watching over us all the time. Sandesh realized that God saw everything he did and nothing could be kept from His sight. God knows our thoughts, too! This got Sandesh’s attention and motivated him to make things right with God.
After all the children left that day, Sandesh went to the Bible Club leader and confessed his sins with deep regret for what he had done. He told the leader he was done stealing. The leader smiled and said she forgave him. She told Sandesh to return everything he had stolen, and he did.
Sandesh confessed his sin to Jesus and received Him as his Savior. He came to the Bible Club with a new heart and mind the next day and shared his testimony with the other children. Kunjan was so happy about the changes in Sandesh that she also began listening to God’s Word and started following Jesus. She is so thankful the Bible Club leader showed Christ’s love to them, and now they worship God every day.
Sandesh loves using his hobby of playing the drums to worship God, and he reads the Bible to his grandmother every morning and evening. Kunjan takes comfort in knowing, that if she were to die tomorrow, Sandesh would be well cared for by the church members who love them.
