The Hiding Place

I recently read this book written by Corrie Ten Boom. Corrie and her sister Betsie lived with their father in Nazi occupied Holland during WWII. They were Christians, but were imprisoned and later sent to a concentration camp for aiding and hiding Jews in their house. Their father died shortly after they were put in prison and her sister Betsie died in the concentration camp in Germany. Corrie survived and was miraculously released from the camp.

It took me a long time to finish the book because sometimes I could only read a few pages at a time. Sometimes the words were too painful to read and I would have to put the book down to weep. You can imagine the horrible, unspeakable things that they experienced.

One of the things that struck me as I read this book was that these events happened not very long ago- just over 50 years ago. This was during my grandparents generation. Sometimes it's easy to forget that even today there are many places in the world where there is great injustice and persecution. Maybe it's easy to ignore the fact that there is great evil and wickedness in the world because we live in a peaceful country where we have great freedom. The reality is that we live in a fallen, sinful world full of depravity. Thankfully, we have a Savior who will one day bring swift and complete justice.

I've often wondered how I would respond if I was ever severely persecuted for my faith. I hear stories of people who have undergone extreme persecution who later talk about how those times were some of the sweetest moments they have experienced with Christ. This story was no exception. I've often wondered how this could be. I imagine myself being angry with God and asking all the "Why me?" questions. I think that maybe if God is truly the only thing in your life that you have to hold on to, when you have absolutely nothing else, that he truly becomes the most precious thing to you.