Driving Home With God's Smuggler

Yesterday we braved the snowy, windy roads of Montana to return home.  Ethan drove the car in white, white difficult conditions.  Our family was tired, and admittedly, the two oldest children were bickering and angry several times during the trip.  Our nerves were on edge.  We put on an audio book edition of "God's Smuggler" by Brother Andrew and John and Elizabeth Sherrill written in 1967.  Andrew's world of 1930s and 40s Holland and then the post-world war Iron Curtain missionary work opened our eyes and our imaginations as we drove.  During the breaks, I read from my book "The Insanity of God" by Nik Ripken.

Brother Andrew traveling behind the Iron Curtain in his blue VW sedan.

The persecution of the Church is heavy on my mind after reading these books.  Brother Andrew told a story about Czechoslovakia where the government frustrated the Christians by sponsoring a new edition of the Bible then refusing the print it.  The other Bibles were not allowed to be printed, only the new edition. So without the new edition, no Bibles were available anywhere.  In one church in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, the congregation of people possessed only seven Bibles amongst them, so they would hold up their Bibles above their heads during the service so that everyone could crowd around them and share the word together.  They would copy the words to hymns on looseleaf notebooks and share those as well.  How may people in our churches even bring their Bibles to church let alone follow along with the reading of Scripture during the service?  We are so free yet so bound in our "Land of the Free."  We value little of what the historical Church has valued, and God's word is no longer precious to us.  Nik Ripken told countless stories of pastors who were tortured and imprisoned for countless years because they were Christian pastors and refused to denounce Christ.  Their families were persecuted and humiliated as well, yet they counted the cost of this and knew that Jesus was worthy of their suffering.  Cause us, Father, to treasure, love, and be devoted to Jesus Christ just as these persecuted Christians were.  You are worthy of our love. Amen.