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I Am Tired of Death
18 January 2006
women bathing in the river
"If therefore the light that is in your body is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:23.

"Sunrise City" is a key "holy" city for some. People come to Sunrise City from all around the world looking for spiritual life. Though some may say that this is a city of life, it would be more accurate to call Sunrise City the "city of death."

Almost every day we see the dead wrapped in red and gold material being carried by a procession of people or on top of a vehicle. With incense burning, the procession makes its way to the sacred river while chanting, "Ram, nam satya hai." ("The name of Ram is true!") They believe if they die in Sunrise City, they will go to paradise, so people come from all over the world to die in hope of redemption, but instead, they stand at the brink of eternal death and separation from God. If only they knew that Jesus promises "life abundantly," yet they cling to their traditions in an effort to appease God by the good things they do.

People worship in the sacred river of Sunrise City, believing that by dipping in the water their sins will be washed away. They also drink the polluted water believing they can ingest the "life" of the river.

Along the river bank is an area where the dead are cremated on a pile of wood and the ashes are spread over the water. If a baby dies, his body is just thrown into the water without cremation. Bodies of dead babies and animals often float in the river. These pictures of death are haunting. Pray for us as we share Jesus words: "I have come to give you life and life abundantly."

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