God's Smuggler

by Brother Andrew

Can you ever say no to your mother? You can do no—but you can’t say no.

“That’s the excitement in obedience,” he said. “Finding out later what God had in mind.”

I urged the German Christians to become missionaries; because it has been my experience that a missionary church is an alive church.

It is never safe to call a church a puppet—no matter how dead, no matter how subservient and temporizing it may appear on the surface. It is called by God’s name, it has God’s eye upon it, at any moment He may sweep the surface away with the purifying wind of His Spirit.

Persecution is an enemy the Church has met and mastered many times. Indifference could prove to be a far more dangerous foe.

If a man seems to be harboring personal resentments against a certain government, or if he has more to say about the evils of Communism than the goodness of God, then we suspect that he is a soldier poorly armed for the battle before us.

But God is never defeated. Though He may be opposed, attacked, resisted, still the ultimate outcome can never be in doubt. Every day we see fresh proof that indeed all things—even evil ones—work together for those who are called by His name.

What is the difference between ministry in Communist countries and ministry in Islamic countries? Islam is a much stronger movement. Communism lasted barely 70 years in Russia and Eastern Europe. Islam has already been around for 1,400 years. Islam is based on monotheism and a holy book. The challenge of Communism is the stupid proclamation “There is no God.” The challenge of Islam is “Who is God?” We know that many Muslims are motivated to die for their faith. If we don’t come up with an answer, Islam will continue to grow and attract more volunteers willing to blow themselves up as self-proclaimed martyrs.

As long as we see any person as an enemy—whether Communist, Muslim or terrorist—then the love of God cannot flow through us to reach them.

The devil will do everything possible to thwart the advance of God’s Kingdom. Jesus told us that if the world hated Him, it will also hate us. So we must not be surprised by the increase in persecution around the world. However, we are not weak. There is much we can do, starting on our knees.