Hello, and welcome back to Nations 4 Jesus. We're continuing our Christmas-themed podcast series, and today I want to share one of the most dramatic conversion stories in Christian history—a story that began with a young man planning to take his own life and ended with a Christmas Day baptism that launched one of Asia's most influential missionary careers.
This is the story of Sadhu Sundar Singh, and it happened in December 1904 in Punjab, India.
Sundar Singh was born in 1889 into a wealthy Sikh family in the Punjab region of northern India. His mother was deeply devout and raised him to be religious. She took him to sit at the feet of Hindu sadhus (holy men) and Sikh gurus. She wanted him to find spiritual peace.
But when Sundar was 14 years old, his mother died. Her death devastated him. The boy who had been raised to seek God now became angry and bitter. He directed that anger toward Christianity, which he saw as a foreign religion corrupting India.
When a Presbyterian mission school opened near his village, Sundar became one of Christianity's fiercest young opponents. He publicly burned pages of the Bible. He threw mud and stones at Christian preachers. He was so hostile that he once purchased a Bible just to burn it page by page in front of his father—mocking the Christian Scriptures as he destroyed them.
But even as he raged against Christianity, Sundar was deeply troubled. He had no peace. The religions of his upbringing left him empty. He later wrote that he felt like a man dying of thirst while standing in a river—surrounded by religious teaching but unable to find what his soul needed.
By December 1904, 15-year-old Sundar Singh had reached the end of himself. He decided that if God didn't reveal Himself that night, he would take his own life by throwing himself in front of the 5:00 AM train that passed near his home.
In the early hours of December 18, Sundar began to pray—not to Jesus, but to whatever God might be real. He prayed desperately, demanding that God show Himself. He was prepared to die if no answer came.
And then, at about 4:30 AM, something happened that changed everything. A bright light filled his room. Sundar thought at first the house was on fire. But then, in that light, he saw a figure—and he heard a voice speaking in Hindustani:
"How long will you persecute Me? I have come to save you. You were praying to know the right way. Why do you not take it?"
Sundar saw the face and hands of Jesus Christ—including the marks of the nails in His hands. The vision lasted several minutes, and then it was gone. But Sundar Singh was forever transformed.
Instead of going to the train tracks to end his life, he went to his father and declared: "I am a Christian."
His family was horrified. His father pleaded with him to reconsider. His relatives mocked him. But Sundar would not turn back. He had seen Jesus. He knew the truth. Nothing could change that.
On Christmas Day—December 25, 1904—just one week after his vision, Sundar Singh was publicly baptized in the Anglican church in the nearby town of Ludhiana. It was a profound act of faith. In Indian culture, baptism meant final separation from family and community. Sundar knew he would be disowned, and he was.
His family considered him dead. They held a funeral for him. According to some accounts, they even attempted to poison him before he left home. At 15 years old, Sundar Singh was alone in the world—but he had Christ.
Rather than adopting Western Christian dress and customs, Sundar chose to become a Christian sadhu—a holy man in the Indian tradition. He wore the saffron robes of an Indian religious wanderer, went barefoot, carried no money, and depended entirely on God for his needs. But the message he carried was the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This was revolutionary. Sundar Singh showed that one could follow Jesus without becoming Western. He made Christianity accessible to Indian people in a way that foreign missionaries often couldn't. He spoke their languages, wore their clothing, understood their culture—and he told them about the Jesus who had appeared to him.
Over the next 25 years, Sundar Singh became one of the most remarkable evangelists Asia has ever known. He traveled throughout India preaching the Gospel. He made multiple dangerous trips to Tibet—one of the most closed regions on earth—to share Christ, enduring imprisonment, torture, and near-death experiences. He traveled to Europe, America, and Australia, speaking to huge crowds about Jesus.
His preaching was powerful because it was authentic. He had experienced Jesus personally. He lived a life of radical simplicity and dependence on God. He spoke of Christ not as a foreign religion but as the fulfillment of India's spiritual longing. And thousands came to faith through his ministry.
Sundar Singh's writings have been translated into numerous languages and continue to influence Christians worldwide. His books and recorded teachings still inspire believers more than a century after his conversion. He's been called the "Apostle of the Bleeding Feet" because of his endless walking to share the Gospel, and the "Saint Paul of India" because of his dramatic conversion and missionary impact.
In 1929, at about age 40, Sundar Singh set out on another trip to Tibet—and was never seen again. He likely died in the Himalayan mountains while trying to bring the Gospel to Tibetans. His body was never found.
But his legacy lives on. The man who burned Bibles at age 14 became one of Christianity's greatest ambassadors to Asia. The boy who planned to kill himself on December 18 was baptized on Christmas Day and spent the rest of his life telling others about the Christ who had saved him.
I love this story for our Christmas series because it shows us what Christmas is really about. Christmas is about Jesus coming to seek and save those who are lost. Sundar Singh was utterly lost—hostile to God, empty inside, planning to end his life. But Jesus came to him. Jesus revealed Himself. Jesus saved him.
That's the Christmas message! God didn't wait for us to find Him. He came to us. He came to a world that was hostile to Him, that rejected Him, that would crucify Him—and He came anyway, because He loved us and wanted to save us.
And notice the timing. Sundar's vision was on December 18. His baptism was on Christmas Day. It's as if God orchestrated the entire timeline to make the connection clear: This is what I do. I come to those who are lost. I reveal Myself to those who are seeking. I transform enemies into ambassadors.
Sundar Singh's story challenges us in several ways. First, it reminds us that no one is too hostile for God to reach. Sundar burned Bibles and threw stones at Christians—and Jesus appeared to him personally. Don't give up on anyone. The person most opposed to the Gospel today might be tomorrow's greatest evangelist.
Second, it shows us that Christianity isn't a Western religion. Jesus appeared to an Indian boy in Punjab and called him to follow in an Indian way. The Gospel transcends every culture and can be expressed in every culture. We need more Sundar Singhs who will show their people that following Jesus doesn't mean becoming Western.
Third, it reminds us that a personal encounter with Christ changes everything. Sundar didn't become a Christian because of arguments or programs. He met Jesus. That personal reality sustained him through persecution, poverty, and danger for the rest of his life.
Merry Christmas, friends. May the Christ who appeared to Sundar Singh appear to you this season—and may you never be the same.
Until next time, remember—keep your eyes on the nations, and never underestimate what God can do with a transformed life.
You can listen to this in podcast form at Spotify podcast
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