In the book Hearts of Fire in the Voice of the Martyrs
series, there is a story of a family who is in post WWII Romania. And as Christian Jews, they have just been “freed”
from the concentration camps of Germany to a post-war communist Russia who is
rounding up all religious persons (unless they confess in the government
religion) and sending them to hard labor prisons.
In this prison this woman, Sabina, whom the story centers on
meets two young daughters of a Christian man who was sent to prison for telling
gospel stories to children. In their
efforts to make ends meet and care for their 15 year old brother they end up in
prostitution with urgings of officials.
She is broken as she has ended up in the prison also and her brother
went mentally crazy from the discovery.
As she tells Sabina her story and as Sabina consuls her and
encourages her in the Lord and in His forgiveness, she wonders in her story
about what was the greater sin. Her
thoughts are written as “Every day I
prayed for the tormented girl, and eventually the poor girl was able to release
her guilt. I kept thinking of how she
and her sister had sinned to get bread for their family. Perhaps
the greater sin, I decided, belonged to Christians of the free world who had
not taken the time to send food that would have saved them.”
Undoubtedly, that is the greater sin. Who are we not giving of Christ’s free food of
salvation today? What generosity have we
been called to with our riches that we aren’t sharing today? Where are we to share our physical gifts of
money, time, and ability today?
May we not commit the greater sin!
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