Brave Christian Rescuers of the 1940s and the 2020s
The pastor was giving a very dramatic sermon on the heroic role of Christians who rescued Jews during the Holocaust from 1938 to 1945. This particular Sunday happened to coincide with Yom HaShoah which is the Jewish Day of remembrance of the Holocaust.
He got emotional at times as he described the suffering and sacrifice of Christian citizens in Nazi controlled countries who went the extra mile to take Jewish people into their homes and hide them.
The pastor began to give details on the personal hardships involved in hiding people from law enforcement: “There were pastors, priests, ministers, nuns, and church members of many denominations involved in hiding Jewish people. They not only had to hide Jewish families in their homes but they had to feed them and care for them. Food was very scarce during the war. Ration cards were issued. The ration cards were necessary to obtain food coupons.
“People made great sacrifices in sharing their food with Jewish families whom they concealed. They had to divide their food 50/50 with the family they were hiding. This resulted in malnutrition for both the Christian family and the Jewish family.”
He continued: “A recent Holocaust documentary featured an interview of a brother and sister who were children during the Holocaust and their parents hid a Jewish family in their home. They were malnourished all during that time. They went to bed hungry almost every night for years. It stunted their growth. The woman was rather bitter about what happened to her and how she suffered during those years. The man was a bit more philosophical and he had no regrets about his parents’ decision to shelter a Jewish family.
“In many situations, God intervened to help the Christian rescuers. There were miraculous supplies of food provided to families in answer to prayer.”
The pastor also described how the propaganda machine was in full operation. “The Nazis were saying that the concentration camps were just work centers and the Jewish people and others enslaved there were given work to do and had food.
“Reports leaked out of people being abused, beaten to death, shot or starved to death in the concentration camps. These were dismissed by many as just rumor or what today we would call conspiracy theories.
“These bold Christian people stepped forward and risked their lives to take Jewish people into their homes. They must have had misgivings at times and said ‘Are we being fools? Maybe the concentration camps really are just work centers. We’re breaking the law hiding Jews. If the Gestapo searches our home and finds the Jews we could be taken to the concentration camps ourselves!’”
“The Christian rescuers also didn’t know how long they would have to conceal the Jewish families. They were told that Germany was winning the war. They must have said among themselves: ‘How long will we have to do this? Till 1945? How about 1950, 1955 1960,1970!? Will we still have the same Jewish Family in our home in 1975 if Germany wins the war and continues its policy of outrageous anti-semitism?’”
The Hiding Place of the ten Boom Family
The pastor gave the example of Corrie ten Boom, her father Casper ten Boom and Corrie’s sister Betsie ten Boom of Haarlem, Netherlands: “The ten Booms were very organized and had dozens of people in a network hiding Jewish people and providing food. They were betrayed by a young man.
“The Gestapo stormed through the door of their home. Corrie, her father and sister were arrested. Her elderly father died 10 days later in a prison. Corrie and Betsie eventually ended up at Ravensbruck concentration camp. Betsie died in December of 1944. Corrie was released due to a clerical error shortly thereafter. She found out later that her women’s unit at the camp was sent to the gas chambers not long after she was released. Corrie’s testimony is in her book titled The Hiding Place. A motion picture was made based on her story, also titled The Hiding Place.”
A Crucial Decision Reveals Their Hearts
At the end of this long and emotional message the pastor gave something of an altar call. He asked the congregation: “If this was 1940 Germany or the Netherlands or Belgium or northern France and you had an opportunity to shelter a Jewish family would you step forward and rescue a Jewish family?”
The people were so moved with compassion that they raised their hands and said “Yes we would!” All over the congregation hands went up as people said: “If I was there I would do it! I would have been like Corrie ten Boom and her family. I would share my food. I would be willing to risk being malnourished. God would provide somehow.”
Then pastor shifted gears a little bit and he said “Right now it’s like 1940 Germany or the Netherlands. There’s a new Holocaust raging. It’s called abortion. It’s mass murder of the unborn. Each of us has a chance to step forward at this time and rescue people and save lives!”
The hushed congregation spoke one to another and wondered what they could do to help. The pastor didn’t keep them in suspense long. He said “I’ve been in touch with a representative of the local pro-life action group. She said they’re in need of safe houses. They’re for young girls, mainly minor girls. They’re under 18.
“They’re being pressured by their parents and boyfriends to get abortions. They don’t want to abort their children. They want to give birth to their babies if you provide shelter. They need a place to live for a few months to be housed, fed, and given prenatal care.
“The representative of the pro-life action group is looking for people with spare bedrooms who can take in young ladies. Of course, this will be done secretly without knowledge of the girl’s parents or boyfriends. It will be a commitment for only a few months for each girl. Once she gives birth she returns to her parents. She will not tell where she’s been hiding. No one will tell where she’s been hiding.
“The representative is here at church today and she will be available in the church cafeteria after this service. Right now I’d just like to see a show of hands of those who would be willing to step forward at this time and save lives. You’re nowhere near the risk that the families took in the years 1938 to 1945. May I see a show of hands of those who would volunteer to hide a young lady in your home?”
There was a lot of conversation among people in the congregation. It was wife to husband and husband to wife. “We’ve got a spare bedroom, honey. No, that bedroom is my office! If we do this we can be sued! What if her parents track us down and find out that we’ve been hiding their 16 year old daughter? There are plenty of shelters available. Can’t we just put these girls in a shelter! Well, aren’t you brave! If they catch us they can’t take us to a concentration camp! Corrie ten Boom risked her life! Maybe we should take the risk. What do you think?”
The pastor persisted. “How many of you will step forward? Can I see a show of hands? I don’t see many hands! A few minutes ago you said that you would step forward if this was 1940 during the Holocaust in the time of Corrie ten Boom. Let me see your bravery. Let me see your commitment to Christ!”
The pastor continued: “If you’ve read the book of Revelation, especially chapter 13:7–18, you know that the antichrist is coming. There’s a time coming when Christians will be persecuted in extreme ways. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations” (Revelation 13:7). When the antichrist persecutes us, will you shelter a family on the run? When they’re fired for being a Christian and you still have a job will you share with them?”
Resisting the Culture of Death
The pastor gave another example: “If the woke culture and Great Reset people steal more elections and take over the government and they squash our remaining freedoms what will you do? Will you be like the brave righteous gentiles of 1940 or the wimpy people who refuse a spare bedroom for a girl running from a forced abortion? The Great Reset people are trying to create an unfree world run by technocrats (experts) ruling by decree, imposing mandates, shutting down freedom and imposing a culture of death.
“Even now they’re presenting abortion as some sort of sacred right, as if it’s some kind of a secular sacrament. They’ve turned our public schools into gay lifestyle indoctrination centers. They’ve imposed a social welfare state that destroys the incentive to work. What do you think they’ll do when they really take the gloves off? What will you do when push comes to shove and they try to marginalize us and push us to the very fringes of society and then try to trample us? Will you shelter people then? Or maybe you’ll be the one needing to hide!”
Brave Christian People Respond
The people in the church were convicted by the pastor’s chilling message.. Slowly the hands went up across the congregation. People raised their hands and pledged to do what they could to help the girls that are fleeing forced abortions. Several safe houses were set up in the days and weeks that followed.
The people took in the young girls and cared for them and ministered to them and told them about Jesus. They demonstrated the love of God to them. They told the girls that God has provided a great deal of evidence that validates the truth of the Bible. The girls were amazed that the Bible is confirmed by miracles, signs and wonders. Answers to prayer occur today in abundance. Jesus came in fulfillment of over 300 prophecies written in the Old testament.
In the Old Testament, the entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah consists of a very clear prophetic prediction of the coming Messiah, that He would suffer and die and take the penalty of the sins of the people upon Himself. More than eight hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah wrote of Christ: “the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus fulfilled this and many other prophecies in the Old Testament. Jesus is the promised Messiah of Israel who came to redeem us. You also can obtain everlasting life if you repent and turn to Jesus Christ today to receive forgiveness of sins.
The above story of the pastor exhorting his congregation is fictional. I hope you found it provocative and an encouragement to get involved when you have opportunity to do so. Years ago I was asked to donate housewares and clothing to a safe house for young girls who were being pressured to undergo abortions against their will. So the story given above is not implausible. There are safe houses sheltering young girls today.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said “Ye must be born again.” (John 3:7)
1) Believe that God loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2) Believe that Jesus Christ came to die for you, to take upon Himself the penalty of your sins (Isaiah 53:5–6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18).
3) Repent of your sins and call on Jesus Christ to ask for forgiveness of sins (Romans 10:13).
4) Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth (John 1:12, Acts 2:38).
5) Follow Jesus Christ as Lord and be baptized (John 14:15, Acts 2:38).
Prayer to receive salvation:
To receive the salvation which Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
“Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I’m a sinner. I repent of my sins and I ask you to forgive me on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart, then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
© 2022 William P. Nugent
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