The Bible Opa Carried

Happy Monday to our CFC Family;

October 4 is Seniors Day here in Canada. Whether you knew that or not, it is a day set aside to remember and appreciate the seniors among us. It is not nearly as well known as Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, but it is an official day when we are encouraged to show our love and appreciation to those who have a few more years behind them than most of us.

When I think about the seniors who have had an impact on my life, despite not knowing them all that well, my thoughts naturally go back to my grandparents, especially my grandparents on my mother’s side. Because they lived in Rochester, New York, our visits were few and far between, usually only once every two years. When we did visit, there was another challenge that made communication difficult. My understanding of German was mostly limited to a few words and phrases, so I often found myself sitting quietly while my parents and grandparents carried on their “adult conversations” in German.

I remember watching them, trying to figure out what they were talking about by studying their facial expressions and gestures. To me, it was fascinating and almost otherworldly.

One of those visits stands out in particular. One afternoon, my mother decided to sit me down on the couch with her dad and have him share some of “Opa’s war stories” with me. Since I could not understand everything he was saying, she interpreted for me as he began to tell me about some of the experiences he had lived through during the war.

As a young boy, hearing about those near death experiences and the ways God had protected him left a deep impression on me. I was fascinated because some of the things he described seemed almost impossible to believe. Yet they were real and they had actually happened to MY Opa!

When Opa was a young man in his forties, war broke out in Germany and he was conscripted against his will into the military. He was forced to leave his family behind for what would become six long years. For those years, he lived with the uncertainty of war, never knowing whether he would survive or ever see his family again.

I remember him telling me that he was in charge of an ammunition wagon, yet he never had to fire his rifle. Even so, he saw death all around him. Eventually, he became a prisoner of war in northern Russia, where he and the other prisoners endured conditions that I can only imagine.

About twenty years ago, my mother gave me the very Bible that Opa carried with him throughout the war, including his time as a prisoner of war. In the blank pages at the back, Opa had written down some of his favourite Scriptures. One of them was Psalm 146 where in verses 7-8 it says;

“He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.”

As I read these precious words, I couldn’t help but imagine Opa sitting in that dark, cold Russian prison cell, opening that Bible and reading those words, perhaps even to his fellow prisoners. Separated from his family and living in a isolated foreign prison in Northern Russia where he had no idea whether he would ever see them again, in the middle of that uncertainty, he had the words of Scripture to comfort him. Reminding him that God, “sees the oppressed, sets prisoners free, lifts up those who are bowed down, and remains faithful to His people.”

Eventually, the war ended and Opa was released from captivity. Miraculously, he made his way back to his family who had already fled east where they eventually immigrated to the United States, and began a new life together.

Opa was not a perfect man. He was a very private person and was not always easy to talk to. Yet, in the few conversations we did have, he left me something far more valuable than I realized at the time. He left me a legacy of faith. A faith that has continued to encourage and sustain me to this very day.

If you still have parents or grandparents in your life, take the time to ask them about their stories. Ask them what they experienced and what they learned along the way. And if they know the Lord, ask them to tell you about the times they saw God’s faithfulness in their lives.

Those stories are worth hearing and remembering because they become part of who we are.

And if you are the one who has reached your senior years, keep telling your story. Keep sharing what you have learned and how God has been faithful. Tell your children and grandchildren and great grandchildren so they will know where they came from and how the Lord sustained their family.

Psalm 71:18

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”

That is the kind of legacy worth leaving behind: a life that points the next generation toward the faithfulness of God.

Have a great week and we’ll see you Sunday!

Question: What could you do today to make sure the faith and lessons of those who came before you are not forgotten?

Pastor Dan