A Love for Enemies
Sabina Wurmbrand, wife of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, wrote a book called The Pastor's Wife. There are a lot of great themes in this book, and if you have not read it, I strongly recommend that you do. To find a brief overview of the Wurmbrand’s testimony, visit the “about” page on persecution.com. Their lives are marked by bravery, hope and unexplainable joy. But there are two traits of the Wurmbrands that truly set them apart: forgiveness and a love for enemies.
During the war, Sabina, who was Jewish, lost her parents, a brother and three sisters as well as many friends and relatives at the hands of the Nazis. After the German army retreated, those soldiers and officers left behind were both frightened and starving. Consequently, Richard and Sabina took several Nazis into their home. At one point, three German officers were hiding in an outhouse in the Wurmbrand’s yard. Their captain approached Sabina.
“I must tell you something that’s on my mind,” he said. “You know that it is death to shelter a German soldier. Yet you do it—and you are Jews! I must tell you that when the German army recaptures Bucharest, which it surely will, I’ll never do for you what you have done for us.”
Sabina explained to the captain why she treated him as a guest, despite the losses she had suffered. She shared that the worst crimes are forgiven by faith in Christ Jesus.
The captain admitted he didn’t understand her, but he added, “But perhaps if no one had this gift of returning good for evil you talk about, then there would never be an end to killing.”
This example of returning goodness and Christian love for evil is not an isolated incident in Sabina’s story, but rather a recurring theme. When Sabina was in prison, she met women who were former Party members. While the other prisoners despised these women because of their past sins against them, Sabina showed them love through her actions and through her faith. Her forgiveness was not limited by her own circumstances; even while she was still suffering in prison, she was able to forgive those who had offended her.
Let’s take a break from Sabina’s story and reflect. Think about those who you might consider your enemies today. Are they in the Middle East? What would you do if a defeated Iraqi soldier showed up on your doorstep, hungry and broken? Would you turn them away, or would you take them in and share with them the love of Christ? What if you’d lost seven sons in the war? Would that change your answer?
Even though the above example is primarily American, all of you have been hurt or deeply offended by someone. The love of Christ enables us to look at the person who has offended us most, and may still be offending us, and forgive them.
Maybe the person, or group of people, who offended you were part of the Church. Sabina talked about how upset she was when Richard wanted to convert to Christianity because Christians were cruel to Jews, both historically and personally. However, after Sabina met Jesus, she learned to forgive others like He forgives us. This lesson enabled her to even forgive other Christians.
If you’ve read The Pastor’s Wife, or would like to learn more about it, please visit www.vomgroups.com and share your thoughts.