Schindler re-visited

I had a rare opportunity to meet a Jewish holocaust survivor and hear him speak this week. He was a boy in Poland at the time of the German occupation in 1939, and eventually was one of the prisoners Schindler helped rescue from the atrocities of the Nazi concentration camps. It was truly riveting to hear his story and get a first-hand account of how the Nazis dismantled a culture through hatred. I'll post some more thoughts on this soon, but I wanted to tell you what this man said about Schindler and what he did for the Jews.

After the talk, someone asked him about the movie Schindler's List, and how the movie portrayed Schindler first as an entrepreneur, and second as a humanitarian. Was this an accurate picture? The holocaust survivor said (paraphrased) "I don't think the specific details of the situation are all that important. Schindler was a man in a position of influence and power, and he set all that aside and risked his very life to rescue a people of lesser privilege. This is true heroism." I was struck by his description of Schindler, because it paralleled so well what Jesus did for us. He was in the ultimate position of power and influence, sitting at the right hand of the Father. Despite this, He chose to set aside His divinity and come to earth as a man. Then, He went on to risk and eventually give His very life to rescue a people of lesser privilege; a people caught in the bondage of a sinful, fallen world. As the holocaust survivor said, this is true heroism. He also went on to say that he has always felt a need to be as productive as possible with his life, because he wanted to feel like the sacrifice made for him was worth it. Let us be a people who look on the sacrifice of Jesus for us, and in response decide to live a full life of productivity for the Kingdom of God, so we may win for the Lamb the reward of His suffering. Once we truly appreciate what He has done, we can participate in what He is doing on the earth. Talk to you soon!