Pay Attention
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
I share part of the story of Edith Eva Eger. At the age of 16, she, along with her mother and her sister, was taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Her mother was led to the gas chamber almost immediately after arrival.
At the end of the war Edith was in the hospital for several months then returned to her hometown of Kassa on the Hungarian-Czech border. Out of 15,000 taken to the camps, only 70 returned to Kassa. Later, Edith continued her story: “Several years ago, I traveled back to Auschwitz on those same railroad tracks that took countless thousands to their death. I came to mourn the dead and celebrate the living. I needed to touch the walls, see the bunk beds where we lay those endless nights while the stench of the latrines wafted over us. I needed to relive the dreadful events in as much detail as memory allowed, while feeling the emotional and physical response.
The next step in recovery for me was to go public with my story. Recently, when I asked an audience of three hundred University of Texas students how many knew what happened at Auschwitz, four hands went up! I hope that someday my grandchildren will ask me questions about the time when the world was upside down so that if it starts tilting again, they and millions of others can pour out their collective love and spin the world right side up.”
What do you think of the fact that 4 out of 300 college students knew what happened at Auschwitz...when the world was upside down? I was shocked and also saddened by this report. Ignorance of this terrible time in our world makes me fearful it could all happen again. In the Letter to the Romans, Paul the Apostle of Christ warns us believers to “renew our minds.” To me that means pay attention to history. There are powerful lessons to be learned, and the danger of the world being turned upside down again is always with us.
So pay attention. We can’t even imagine being a survivor of this horror that was World War II. But to not know the story is to give in to “this world.” Our calling to “testing” and “discerning” means holding events and actors up to the light God gives us to do just that. God is love. If events--personal or public--are tested by us, and we find not a whiff of God’s love, it is time to face reality. Time to change our path and follow God.
Sincerely in Christ,
Tim
