‘POW’ Tom Gains His Freedom

True Story: WWII had ended. And yet . . . for about thirty years afterwards Tom, haunted by the ugly scenes that he’d witnessed when engaged in the theatre of war, agonized deeply—tortured especially by the fact that he’d killed fellow human beings. He eventually sank into the dark dungeon of depression and despair. 

One day in the mid-1970s, while alone in his house, he took his shotgun and, in a suicide attempt, blew off a large portion of his face. Amazingly, help reached him in time, and he survived. 

I don't have Tom's photo.

Pictured here is my late father-in-law.

Following the Normandy Invasion he 

was assigned to the British Liberation

Army, and was the only one of four 

school buddies to return home alive. 

He didn't like to talk about it.

 

After much reconstructive surgery, including the fashioning of a new jawbone from another bone and graft tissue from elsewhere in his body, Tom was on the road to physical recovery. Yet the emotional wounds persistently pained him. Until . . . 

Until the psychological and spiritual prisons that led to his committing that desperate act were broken open and demolished. 

A neighbour of Tom’s—a pastor friend of mine—visited with him and gently encouraged him during his long journey towards physical recovery, sharing faith and hope in the love of Jesus. Other Christian folk also came by. Tom, like a prisoner of war and hungry for relief was finally heart-ready to be set free from the shackles that held him bound; ready to find the peace that had eluded him all those years.

Tom opened up his life to God and received Jesus Christ as his Saviour. He experienced a palpable sense of forgiveness and release, peace and wholeness. It was for real! Hungry for more of this grace, he and his wife began attending a supportive Christian fellowship. 

I shared many a conversation with Tom, for I also became his neighbour, during his continuing journey of healing and faith.

Quite some years ago I wrote about Tom, and suggested that until He received the healing presence of Jesus into his life he’d remained, in effect, a 'POW'— prisoner of war, although the war had long before been fought and won.

Many people live like POWs, even though, through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ won our war against the forces of evil and the sinful nature that are at enmity against the goodness, grace and will of God. 

Do you remain imprisoned within yourself—bound up in chains of sorrow, anger, unforgiveness, guilt, unfounded fear and wounded pride, and more? Is your heart broken, in a state of perpetual fragmentation, because you’ve been unwilling to let Jesus heal it?

May God grant this year’s Remembrance Day season to be one in which you are released from any prison cells of the soul that have too long held you in spiritual chains. It will be a Remembrance Day season well worth remembering.

A Prayer:

Dear God our Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of Your Son, who shed His blood on the ‘battlefield’ of the Cross to secure my pardon. I claim Your forgiveness of all my sins. Cleanse me, renew my spirit and mind, and lead me in Your way everlasting. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

~~+~~

Peter is a retired pastor – well, sort of retired – as he is currently engaged as an associate volunteer pastor. He lives in Southwestern Ontario with his wife, May, and writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column and occasional magazine articles. Peter is author of two books: "Parables from the Pond" (Word Alive Press) and "Raise Your Gaze . . . Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart" (Angel Hope Publishing). He and May are also engaged in leading nursing home / residential chapel services, pulpit supply and music. ~+~

Law, Not War? Rather, Love! (By Peter Black)

He and his wife have given millions of dollars for charitable purposes, yet they live in a small, modest bungalow in Florida. Ben came to North America from Eastern Europe in poverty and said he plans to finish his life that way.
 

Benjamin Ferencz.
Credit: Washington Post

His wife suffers from dementia, and his attentiveness and presence helps comfort and keep her stable. When he’s absent from her side, she misses him greatly. And so, this retired lawyer turns down numerous requests from around the world asking him to address conferences and speak at universities. That’s love.

Credit: Washington Post

Ben (Benjamin) Ferencz is the last surviving prosecutor of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials that were held shortly after the end of World War II. At only twenty-seven years of age he was appointed chief prosecutor of the Nazi extermination squads, considered the biggest murder trial in human history. Now at the age of ninety-seven his passion for peace-making burns as fervent and bright as ever!

Ferencz was Anna Maria Tremonti’s guest on CBC’s The Current, on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. I listened, intrigued by his personality, life and passion. He doesn’t take vacations, but continues to educate, inform and influence others as best he can, even though no longer touring the world. His mantra asserts that “Law, not War” and persistent education and resolution of conflicts is the better way. Armaments won’t do it, he insists.

Ben Ferencz’s passion reverberates in my mind today and somehow interacts with my own thoughts and journey during this meditative season of Lent.

Inter-church Lenten services are held in my community. I’m inspired by them and thoroughly appreciate fellowship with people from other denominational affiliations.

Sure, we may differ in some doctrinal particulars and practises. Fact is though, that God is not beholden to me and neither are those people. But, I am beholden to God and it is incumbent on me to recognize His grace as extended towards and expressed through those who believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, who gave His life and shed His blood to redeem us from our sins and reconcile us to God.

I feel the warmth of fellowship “in Christ” with many, regardless of race and colour, and we mutually embrace each other as Christ-followers. That’s also love.

We hear much about mistrust, anger and hate directed towards “the other,” in our society and in the world at large, today. In harmony with Mr. Ferencz, I acknowledge that information and education can play a part, and that laws banning expressions of hate and hateful acts might help.

Trailer Credit: maxresdefault ; YouTube

I admire and appreciate what I’ve learned of this remarkable human being, Ben Ferencz. The film, A Man Can Make A Difference, tells his story. I’m sure the world is a better place because of his passionate commitment to justice for all.

Laws prescribe standards of behaviour, from domestic levels to international affairs. But will well-meant and well-worded laws change hearts? Surely the best laws are those that are indelibly inscribed in hearts and demonstrated through lives well-lived with understanding and practical love for others.

Jesus Christ’s accomplishment through the cross declares that self-giving and loving actions can help change attitudes and outcomes and can break down the walls of suspicion and mistrust that divide.  And yet, even He met with fierce opposition that led to His crucifixion and death. But was it not really His Divine love that held Him to the cross?

May the love of God our Father, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, transform hearts today.

~~+~~

 

Peter A. Black lives in Southwestern Ontario. He writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column, P-Pep! and is author of Raise Your Gaze ... Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart, and Parables from the Pond. ~~+~~

 

 

Colour and Aroma - Laycock

I leaned over my friend’s shoulder as he crouched on the riverbank. Clear water swirled over the dirt and gravel and spilled over the edge of the large pan in his hands. Slowly the larger stones washed away, leaving only fine black sand. He moved the pan gently, then stopped. “There,” he said, holding it up for me to look. “See it?”

I peered at the spot where he pointed. Tiny slivers glinted in the sun. “That’s it?”

My friend nodded. “Enough colour to keep us going.”

Those tiny flecks of gold found on the creek that day resulted in a major excavation of that area. A crew of men and machinery descended and the hunt for more gold was on. Similar scenes have been played out in the gold fields of the Yukon for over a hundred years. A small sliver gleaming in a pan was all it took for men to move mountains, dam rivers and create feats of engineering to equal the Panama Canal. All it took was a tiny bit of “colour.”

In his book, The Only Necessary Thing, Henri Nouwen writes: “The spiritual life is a long and often arduous search for what you have already found...The desire for God’s unconditional love is the fruit of having been touched by that love.”

When you find a sliver of love, you seek more of it. When you find a sliver of truth you tune your ear for more. When you find a sliver of God, your whole being longs for more of Him. That longing in our hearts is not unlike sitting down to a good meal at a good restaurant. The plates put before us steam with delicious aromas. We take the utensils in hand and take the first bite. Then another and another, until the food is consumed. Momentarily satisfied, we begin planning a return trip to the same place. We have tasted and it was good. Our natural instinct is to want more.

God has put his colour all around us – signs that He is here. His aroma surrounds us – it rises from the words of His people and His Word, the Bible. There is only one catch. The miners in the Yukon had to find that first sliver of gold by testing the ground. Sitting in a restaurant surrounded by good smells won’t convince you that the food is delicious. You have to take the first bite.

In Psalm 34:8 David says – “Taste and see that the Lord is good...” He did, and found more love and forgiveness than he had a right to. We will too. We’ve seen the colour – the glories of His creation that surrounds us. All be have to do is dig – look around and see. We’ve smelled the aroma – the wisdom of His word and his people. All we have to do is take a bite – read His word often, surround ourselves with Christian friends and mentors. What we will find is far more precious than gold, far more satisfying than any gourmet meal. It will mean engaging in an adventure far more exciting than any gold rush, far more satisfying than a visit to the most expensive restaurant in the world.