Corrie ten Boom

A War Hero’s Greatest Triumph

An eighth-place finish at the Olympics is a dream few attain. And it’s no small exploit to survive 47 days stranded at sea. To endure two years of cruel treatment at a Japanese prison camp is unimaginable. Yet there’s something more remarkable about Louis Zamperini’s story than any of these feats combined.

The life of an Olympian-turned-war hero is a treasure for the history books, but Louis Zamperini accomplished something greater than these other impossibilities. It’s found in the words of a letter penned by his own hand, written to the man who’d tortured him during those years at prison camp…

“Under your discipline, my rights, not only as a prisoner of war but also as a human being, were stripped from me. It was a struggle to maintain enough dignity and hope to live until the war’s end…The post-war nightmares caused my life to crumble, but thanks to a confrontation with God through the evangelist Billy Graham, I committed my life to Christ. Love has replaced the hate I had for you. Christ said, ‘Forgive your enemies and pray for them’…I also forgave you and now would hope that you would also become a Christian.” –Louis Zamperini (Unbroken)

Reading these words, I’m humbled to consider the depth of suffering and staggered to contemplate the degree of forgiveness on the part of a man who suffered so greatly. This overcoming of unthinkable trials, this forgiving of unimaginable torture is the war hero’s greatest triumph.

It reminds me of Corrie ten Boom, who after saving the many lives during World War II was sent to prison camp—there tortured and starved, there losing her family. Years later, upon encountering one of the guards who’d dealt the blows of suffering—she forgave. Or of Elisabeth Elliot, who after her husband was speared to death, returned to the tribe responsible, living among them and teaching them the way of love.

Ultimately, it reminds me of Jesus who, beaten, tortured, suffering, and dying on the cross spoke words of forgiveness to his tormentors. If I am ever to forgive the unforgivable, love the unlovable, and overcome the impossible, I look to my Savior, who went before me in the way of suffering and forgiveness. And who enables me to do the same.
 
“But I say to you, love your enemies and bless the one who curses you, and do what is beautiful to the one who hates you, and pray over those who take you by force and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand, Random House, 2010, pp. 396-97.

Source: A War Hero’s Greatest Triumph

I Spy Love

Magnifying Glass from Google ImagesHave you ever played I Spy with a little kid? My niece used to make it impossible. She’d spy, I’d search, and after multiple failed attempts she’d finally admit it was something I already guessed ten minutes ago. My daughter, on the other hand, makes it a little too easy. She spies something green, and it could be any tree, street sign, or patch of grass I mention. No matter what, I’m right.

The game’s a little harder to play while driving at night. All you can really spy once the sun goes down…is darkness. It kind of takes the fun out of it all.

There are days when it’s easy to see the good in everything. And there are days when we look, and there’s nothing but darkness. On those days, it’s tempting to succumb to discouragement. We accept our present reality as our ultimate destiny. With constant news of war, hatred, killing, disease, disaster, divorce, broken families, addictions and more–we presume there is nothing greater than what we see with our physical eyes. Slowly, we come to believe that change is impossible and despair is inevitable.

The truth is that a diamond shines with greatest radiance when set against a dark backdrop. It is the same with our world: the darkness of evil that surrounds us can only make the light shine all the brighter. The stars would be dim to our sight if there were no darkness, but against the night sky they shine with greater intensity.

On the power of light over darkness, Richard Wurmbrand has said: “Imagine two rooms separated from each other by a thick curtain. In one the darkness reigns, the other is lighted by a candle. If the curtain is withdrawn, it is not the darkness that prevails. Darkness cannot overcome the light…light always prevails over darkness.”

In the midst of immense darkness, we are given clear visions of God’s love. After suffering unimaginable tortures in a Nazi prison camp, Corrie ten Boom was able to say, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” If we open our eyes, we will find God’s love…even in the deepest of darkness.

True Love…is UNMISTAKABLE (Day 49, #50ShadesOfTrueLove)

(Excerpted from Jen’s post “A Light in the Darkness” on the Nightlight Blog)

A War Hero’s Greatest Triumph

Forgiveness Symbols from Bing ImagesAn eighth-place finish at the Olympics is a dream few attain. And it’s no small exploit to survive 47 days stranded at sea. To endure two years of cruel treatment at a Japanese prison camp is unimaginable. Yet there’s something more remarkable about Louis Zamperini’s story than any of these feats combined.

The life of an Olympian-turned-war hero is a treasure for the history books, but Louis Zamperini accomplished something greater than these other impossibilities. It’s found in the words of a letter penned by his own hand, written to the man who’d tortured him during those years at prison camp…

“Under your discipline, my rights, not only as a prisoner of war but also as a human being, were stripped from me. It was a struggle to maintain enough dignity and hope to live until the war’s end…The post-war nightmares caused my life to crumble, but thanks to a confrontation with God through the evangelist Billy Graham, I committed my life to Christ. Love has replaced the hate I had for you. Christ said, ‘Forgive your enemies and pray for them’…I also forgave you and now would hope that you would also become a Christian.” –Louis Zamperini (Unbroken)

Reading these words, I’m humbled to consider the depth of suffering and staggered to contemplate the degree of forgiveness on the part of a man who suffered so greatly. This overcoming of unthinkable trials, this forgiving of unimaginable torture is the war hero’s greatest triumph.

It reminds me of Corrie ten Boom, who after saving the many lives during World War II was sent to prison camp—there tortured and starved, there losing her family. Years later, upon encountering one of the guards who’d dealt the blows of suffering—she forgave. Or of Elisabeth Elliot, who after her husband was speared to death, returned to the tribe responsible, living among them and teaching them the way of love.

Ultimately, it reminds me of Jesus who, beaten, tortured, suffering, and dying on the cross spoke words of forgiveness to his tormentors. If I am ever to forgive the unforgivable, love the unlovable, and overcome the impossible, I look to my Savior, who went before me in the way of suffering and forgiveness. And who enables me to do the same.
 
“But I say to you, love your enemies and bless the one who curses you, and do what is beautiful to the one who hates you, and pray over those who take you by force and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
 
True Love…FORGIVES (Day 36,#50ShadesOfTrueLove)

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand, Random House, 2010, pp. 396-97.