News / Thoughts

Sri Lanka: “They were not killed. They were sown.”

On Easter Sunday a series of bomb attacks hit churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. Jackson was just 13 – he was one of the hundreds who lost their lives. He was at the Sunday school at Zion Church when a bomb was detonated. His aunt and uncle also died in the attack.

Image: Verlini, Jackson and Ranjith.

Open Doors field workers, visited Arasaratnam Verl – Jackson’s father.

“My son, Jackson, and my sister died on the spot,” Verl said. “My brother-in-law died a week after the incident in the hospital.”

“Jackson was team captain of his basketball team,” Verl continued. “He used to compete in many places like Jaffna, Colombo. He’s the best in everything. He’s my only son.”

“Losing someone hurts. They are special people. They were not killed. They were sown. They are like seeds. And the blood of the martyrs are the seeds of the church.

“Jesus died on Good Friday, and on Easter Sunday, He was resurrected. My son, sister, and brother-in-law died, but they were resurrected with Jesus on that day.”

Despite the heartache, grief and loss, Verl committed to dedicating his life to God, even after the accident. “God is good,” he said. “God is great. My foundation is Jesus Christ. I’m zero. Jesus is everything.”

He continued, “My son was mine for 13 years, but he is His forever.”

I’m not asking God why…

Amidst the devastation, the Open Doors teams visit ends with hope.

“Pastor Kumaran, Assistant Pastor of Zion Church, lost his 14-year-old son Malkiya in the attack. Tearfully, this is what he said to us: ‘I’m not asking God why, I’m only asking how I can pass through this, and how long.’

This is the promise of God in Romans 8:35-39:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

No one can separate our Sri Lanka brethren from the love of Jesus.

Thank you for your prayers. Grace and peace.”

How Open Doors is helping…

What happened in those churches on Easter Sunday will affect people for the rest of their lives. But Open Doors is committed to providing long-term trauma care and counselling, and help to families who have lost a source of income. We’ll support approximately 250 families in the affected areas. And this is entirely due to you. Open Doors partners will also host persecution survival training seminars, because, sadly, we cannot assume the threat has gone away.

This is actually the kind of training that Open Doors has offered globally for decades. One of the most shocking, outrageous things about this event is that what happened in Sri Lanka is not unique. Every week, Christians around the world risk their lives by going to church.

If you’d like to give, you can here…