Stephen mentioned that he had an unexpected encounter on Monday afternoon. The State Bank of Travancore had out of the blue decided to donate an ambulance - and asked Stephen and the others to come for its handing over. Stephen, expecting a simple affair, went as he normally is dressed for the hospital - half shirt, comfortable pants.
When he got to the site it was posh. And everyone was dressed to the nines. There were 3 chairs on the podium. One chair for the MD of State Bank - one for Stephen - and one for .... Amitabh Bachchan.
"Who is Amitabh Bachchan?" asked Asha - who was listening on the story. When Stephen pulled out a newspaper with their picture in it - Asha said: "He's the guy on the chocolate."
Among Amitabh's many activities - being brand ambassador for Cadbury's chocolate is the one that has him known among the younger Eichers.
Stephen said that Amitabh was quite friendly and gave some gracious comments at the do. When it was Stephen's turn, he chose to go beyond the normal "thank you for the ambulance, we are so grateful" bit. Stephen told a bit about how he had come back to India to serve in the name of Christ, and shared some of range of activities that the trust is doing. He also challenged the audience not to take their privilege for granted. Not to think that they have acheived what they have by their own hard work alone. To acknowledge the grace of God and to realise that we all need to give back as well.
Who knows what each day will hold? We may find ourselves seated (unexpectedly as Dr. Stephen did) next to Amitabh Bachhan. We may be sitting next to one of our billion other countrymen (and women). Each one is precious. Each one deserves our respect and the earnest good that comes from conversation. As image-bearers of the divine creator - what a privilege it is to serve people - no matter how marred or splintered the original image may be at this point.
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