War and violence have brought plenty of grief and pain through the centuries. While many believe that today's turmoil is an anamoly in the world that has become more civilized, but is that true?
Civility and kindness come and go with the changing times. And the critical issue is our conscience. Without that rudder to guide us, human civilizations collapse into degeneracy...
After the Soviet Communists took over Romania, they hunted Germans as Nazi sympathizers. Anutza Moise decided to provide a hiding place to the very men who had hated her for being a Jew and a Christian. When she offered to help hide these men from the Communists, they couldn’t believe that her offer was genuine.
“Do you not remember that we were the very ones that sent you to prison?” one of them asked.
Her love amazed them, and many were won to Christ by her example. She, along with Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand and others, raised children whose Jewish parents had been exterminated in Nazi death camps.
Later, Anutza migrated to Norway, where she was active in a ministry to Jewish believers. In this ministry, she raised $10,000 to pay a ransom for her former pastor, Richard Wurmbrand, gaining his release from Romania. Anutza also handled the travel arrangements to get the Wurmbrands and their son, Mihai, to the West. Without Anutza’s love and advocacy on his behalf, an influential pastor and founder of The Voice of the Martyrs might have died in a Communist prison.
When God calls us to follow him and we respond, it means following him everywhere and doing whatever he asks. Because Anutza took this calling seriously, she acted with love and forgiveness toward her enemies. The task of sheltering her former oppressors must have seemed monumental, but Anutza was able to do it. She obediently chose forgiveness over bitterness and revenge, and she followed Christ’s example of love. What has God told you to do? Don’t miss the opportunity to do eternally significant work.