Praying For The Lost

hrough the stench of human waste and charred flesh, a mass of priests and pilgrims pressed toward one of the holiest places known to their faith.

On this day of celebration for their goddess, religious devotees believed the river would provide physical healing and forgiveness of their sins. They brought their dead with them, and set fire to their bodies on pyres in hopes of providing their loved ones with a good afterlife. Ashes, bones and cremated bodies sank into the river.

But above the clamor of the crowds, Varghese heard a lone, wailing voice. Kneeling along the shore, a young woman beat her chest and sobbed uncontrollably.

As Varghese approached, she wiped away the tears and tried to compose herself, but when he asked what was wrong, her horrific story poured out.

Her husband was sick with tuberculosis and had been out of work for months. Without his income, the young couple didn't know how they would survive—unless they could somehow make peace with their deity.

"The troubles in my home are so great, and my sins so many," she said, "so I gave my goddess the best I had to offer: my firstborn son."

With horror, Varghese realized the woman had just thrown her infant into the river. The practice is centuries old: parents sacrifice their children in the river out of desperation for forgiveness. They've never been told that salvation was already purchased by the Son of God.
Millions of people come to the Ganges River hoping their sins will be washed away.

PRAY FOR PEOPLE LIKE THIS WOMAN TO FIND THE TRUE WAY WHICH CAN BE FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST