"Sisters of First Century Christians" in the Soviet Gulag

Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's classic, Gulag Archipelago, recounts the horrors of the Soviet forced labour camps where "political" offenders (referred to as "politicals") were imprisoned and subject to brutal forced labour on account of various "political" offences which ranged from the ridiculous to absurd, as were other prisoners who were jailed for other offences. 

Among those imprisoned for "political" offences were Christians. In Solzhenitsyn's book, he records the best and worst of their responses to persecution. Of these were a group of believers, simple people with a simple faith, that shone in the darkness of the Soviet Gulag: 

And not only socialists were now politicals. The politicals were splashed in tubfuls into the fifteen-million-criminal ocean, and they were invisible and inaudible to us. They were mute. They were muter than all the test. Their image was the fish. 

The fish, symbol of the early Christians. And the Christians were their principal contingent. Clumsy, semiliterate, unable to deliver speeches from the rostrum or compose an underground proclamation (which their faith made unnecessary anyway), they went off to camp to face tortures and death - only so as not to renounce their faith! They knew very well for what they were serving time, and they were unwavering in their convictions! They were the only ones, perhaps, to whom the camp philosophy and even the camp language did not stick. And these were not politicals? Well, you'd certainly not call them riffraff. 

And women among them were particularly numerous. The Tao says: When faith collapses, that is when the true believers appear. Because of our enlightened scoffing at Orthodox priests, the squalling of the Komsomol members on Easter night, and the whistles of the thieves at the transit prisons, we overlooked the fact that the sinful Orthodox Church had nevertheless nurtured daughters worthy of the first centuries of Christianity - sisters of those thrown to the lions in the arenas. 

There was a multitude of Christians: prisoner transports and graveyards, prisoner transports and graveyards. Who will count those millions? They died unknown, casting only in their immediate vicinity a light like a candle. They were the best of Russia's Christians. The worst had all... trembled, recanted, and gone into hiding.

For these blessed believers, perhaps "the world was not worthy of them" (Hebrews 11:38), and certainly "God had planned something better for [them]" (Hebrews 11:40). 

They may have died silently, unknown and unrecognised by the world; but on the side of eternity awaits a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to them on that day of His appearing (cf. 2 Timothy 4:8).

Faith Without Action is Dead: The cowardice of a pastor in the face of Nazi terror

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?" (James 2:14)

It is often only in times of testing when the rubber hits the road and when faith is put to the test that we truly see whether one's faith is a living faith accompanied by action or a dead faith.

The Bible records numerous accounts of heroes of faith, well-known and relatively unknown, who have stood against evil even when it cost them dearly. The genocidal impulses against the Hebrews or the Jews have always been strong and, on many occasions, godly men and women stood against the tide. For example, there were the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, who disobeyed Pharaoh's order to kill the Hebrew newborn boys (Exodus 1). There was Esther, who stood against Haman's edict seeking to exterminate the Jews.

The pastor, from the film The Hiding Place (1975)

In our own not-too-distant history, the evil one has not relented in his efforts to destroy God's people. In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom records an account where she was looking for a place where she could hide a Jewish mother and child from the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo. With the scourge of Nazi Germany and its genocidal impulses, arrest would almost certainly mean death:

And the very next morning into the shop walked the perfect solution. He was a clergyman friend of ours, pastor in a small town outside of Haarlem, and his home was set back from the street in a large wooded park.

“Good morning, Pastor,” I said, the pieces of the puzzle falling together in my mind. “Can we help you?”

I looked at the watch he had brought in for repair. It required a very hard-to-find spare part. “But for you, Pastor, we will do our very best. And now I have something I want to confess.”

The pastor’s eyes clouded. “Confess?”

I drew him out the back door of the shop and up the stairs to the dining room.

“I confess that I too am searching for something.” The pastor’s face was now wrinkled with a frown. “Would you be willing to take a Jewish mother and her baby into your home? They will almost certainly be arrested otherwise.” Color drained from the man’s face. He took a step back from me. “Miss ten Boom! I do hope you’re not involved with any of this illegal concealment and undercover business. It’s just not safe! Think of your father! And your sister – she’s never been strong!”

On impulse I told the pastor to wait and ran upstairs. Betsie had put the newcomers in Willem’s old room, the farthest from windows on the street. I asked the mother’s permission to borrow the infant: the little thing weighed hardly anything in my arms. Back in the dining room I pulled back the coverlet from the baby’s face.

There was a long silence. The man bent forward, his hand in spite of himself reaching for the tiny fist curled round the blanket. For a moment I saw compassion and fear struggle in his face. Then he straightened. “No. Definitely not. We could lose our lives for that Jewish child!”

Unseen by either of us, Father had appeared in the doorway. “Give the child to me, Corrie,” he said.

Father held the baby close, his white beard brushing its cheek, looking into the little face with eyes as blue and innocent as the baby’s own. At last he looked up at the pastor. “You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.”

The pastor turned sharply on his heels and walked out of the room.

So we had to accept a bad solution to our problem. On the edge of Haarlem was a truck farm which hid refugees for short periods of time. It was not a good location, since the Gestapo had been there already. But there was nowhere else available on short notice. Two workers took the woman and child there that afternoon.

A few weeks later we heard that the farm had been raided. When the Gestapo came to the barn where the woman was hidden, not the baby but the mother began to shriek with hysteria. She, the baby, and her protectors were all taken. We never learned what happened to them.

Such was the cowardice of the pastor. Indeed, faith without action is dead.

Give Glory to God

Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

(Joshua 7:19)

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God, " they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

(John 9:24)

Many would be familiar with the taking of oaths to tell the truth in a courtroom. 

In a Singapore court, a Christian would take the oath by placing his left hand on the Bible, and raising his right hand, saying the words "I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give in this Court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God."

In Biblical Israel, "Give glory to God" was a solemn charge to tell the truth. In the Book of Joshua, Joshua begins questioning Achan about his disobedience by asking him to "give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise". In John 9, the Pharisees question the man born blind who had been healed by Jesus by charging him to "give glory to God". 

We see the very same principle expressed in Mark 9:39 when Jesus told His disciples, "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me". Superficial praise offered to God will not glorify Him if we curse our fellow brothers. For this reason, James highlighted this grave inconsistency in his epistle:

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. 

(James 3:9-12)

We glorify God when we tell the truth. At the same time, we tell the truth when we glorify God. Justice, whether in court or otherwise, is inextricably linked with truth. Without truth, there is no justice. All that is left is your "truth" versus my "truth" with no objective standard to adjudicate between them, leaving only what Friedrich Nietzsche called the "will to power".

Is it any wonder that the collapse of justice that we see in these last days comes hand-in-hand with the denial of God and the objective, absolute Truth? 

Be Faithful with the Little Things

2016.

I began this year feeling purposeless and meaningless, feeling like I have seen all that I need to see in life. Whether in my work, ministry, or anything else, I felt that I had enough and there was - to borrow a phrase used by the writer of Ecclesiastes - "nothing new under the sun". 

"What's next?" This was the question I posed to God repeatedly over the next few days. 

This morning, God finally gave me an answer, "Be faithful with the little things."

It was a deeply unsatisfactory answer, since I had been hoping for something I would consider more precise, such as a clear direction to "do this" or "do that". 

But upon further reflection, I recalled various passages that I had read recently in my quiet time. As Jesus said, "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." (Luke 16:10, ESV)

Likewise, in both the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Minas, the talent or mina of the unfaithful servant was taken and given to the servant who had been faithful with what he was given. 

Jesus added, "I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." (Luke 19:26, ESV)

The little things that God entrusts to us are not to be taken lightly, since faithfulness is what counts in God's eyes. So, take heed, and "Be faithful with the little things."

The Ministry of Listening

Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together  

In my Christian journey, I have very often found that the ability to listen to someone else is an essential part of ministry. It could occur virtually anywhere - such as over a meal, while waiting, during a long train ride - and is hardly confined within the four walls of the church.

In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, Life Together, he discusses some essential ministries in a Christian community. One of these is the ministry of listening:

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as to love God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God's love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him. Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. 

Further, Bonhoeffer warns of "a kind of listening with half an ear that presumes already to know what the other person has to say":

It is an impatient, inattentive listening, that despises the brother and is only waiting for a chance to speak and thus get rid of the other person. This is no fulfillment of our obligation, and it is certain that here too our attitude toward our brother only reflects our relationship to God. 

I, for one, could not agree more. 

I remember the frustration I felt when I was simply trying to have a conversation with a pastor. I was telling him about something I had spoken about in another church. It was just a simple sharing, without more. Nevertheless, he weighed in, almost out of a particular perceived obligation, with his opinion on what I had told him about, speaking at length about church doctrine and tradition on that particular topic. 

Again, on another occasion with another pastor, I shared in a group on social media an article which I had written. What followed was an unsolicited comment from the pastor, who was quick to jump in and go the whole nine yards with his views on the topic, even though this caused the discussion to go off on a rather meaningless tangent.

Had I been seeking pastoral help, I would have been thoroughly put off by how the pastors had behaved. 

In ministry, the ability to listen is sometimes more valuable than the ability to speak. Some of the most meaningful and powerful of ministry which I have offered or which I have received have involved extended periods of listening, coupled with only a few pieces of short prophetic words spoken right into one's soul. 

Even in the midst of profound disagreement, whether in the context of heated debates on controversial issues or more civil discussions, listening has on many occasions shown itself to be more important than speaking and making one's point. As the Apostle James writes, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19).

Bonhoeffer concludes by emphasising that "the ministry of listening has been committed to [Christians] by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share". He writes:

We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God. 

How Do You Bring Someone to Christ?

Over lunch with a friend yesterday, I was telling her about several questions I have been pondering over recently, relating to being a Christian at work. One of the questions related to evangelism in the workplace. 

I said that some people approached evangelism at work in the sense that one would do one's work, and then spend some time on the side or on top of that to evangelise, i.e. by telling people about Jesus Christ. 

I found this unsatisfactory, because it drew an artificial line between "work" and "evangelism", and sometimes the way one works might undermine his or her evangelism.

At the same time, she told me about a Christmas outreach concert that will be taking place tonight. A number of friends and colleagues have been invited. I told her I would keep that in prayer.

Late yesterday evening, while on my way home, I began to ponder again over the question of workplace evangelism. Sensing the difficulty of the task and with some frustration, I asked God the question, "How do you bring someone to Christ?"

God replied, "How do you bring Christ to someone?"

I smiled. 

"Yeah, I can do that."

Freedom is Born Only of Truth

"Then you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free."

(John 8:32) 

Freedom is born only of truth, for as Jesus Christ said, "the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). Yet truth offends, for everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:20ff). 

So how can the truth be spoken unless there first is freedom? Will it not be that everyone who speaks the truth must endure scorn, ridicule and persecution so that others might be free?

For this very reason, the Son of God came to "testify to the truth" (John 18:37), and to purchase our freedom through His sacrifice on the cross. 

For this very same reason, there must arise in every generation prophets and martyrs who will speak the truth, regardless of the consequences, so that others might be set free. 

And this is the call of every disciple of Jesus Christ.