Bob Tamasy
Have you ever seen the film, “Schindler’s List”? I had viewed it when it was first released in 1993, but several weeks ago decided to watch it again. Once more I was struck by its powerful message, in one sense differently from what the filmmakers intended.
Based on the non-fiction novel by Thomas Keneally, it’s about Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist and war profiteer. In the beginning of the movie, we see Schindler (portrayed by Liam Neeson) welcoming World War II for its potential for enabling him to make a lot of money. He’s portrayed as an opportunist, an unapologetic materialist, and a hedonist. Although a member of the Nazi Party, Schindler’s only focus is making money.
As time passes, however, he starts becoming aware of the atrocities of the Holocaust and this drastically shifts his perspective. He then sets out to do everything he can to undermine the Nazi madness. Since many of the workers in Schindler’s Krakow, Poland factories are Jews, he realizes they’re in grave jeopardy, not only as employees but also as human beings. He sets off on a plan to shield them from being assigned to the Nazi concentration camps, even arranging for many of them to be transported to safer parts of Europe.
Schindler starts compiling the list that the title of the book and movie refers to – names of people who have been delivered from Nazi clutches through his intervention. By the end of the film, Schindler is a broken man, repentant of his self-absorbed lifestyle with only one wish: That he could have done more.
Even though he helped more than 1,000 men, women and children escape extermination in the death camps, in the final scenes Schindler despairs, “I could have got more…. One more person.” “I didn’t do enough.”
What a poignant, heartbreaking scene when he looks at the few material possessions he has retained – a ring, a car – and thinks of how he might have sold them to generate money to save even more Jews from the gas chambers.
It struck me that Schindler’s passion was to save people from Nazi terror, even though they were individuals who would die one day of other causes – 100 percent of them. They were protected from genocide, but inevitably would all see an end to their temporal existence.
What would happen if we, as followers of Jesus, shared a similar passion and sense of urgency for people who need to hear the transforming message of Christ, which can rescue them not from earthly death but from eternal death and separation from God? Sadly, unlike Schindler who had a list of folks he’d been able to save from becoming victims of the Holocaust, too many of us are list-less – content with our everyday lives but exhibiting a listlessness when it comes to matters of eternal consequence.
Jesus spoke of this often, including His command to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), and His Great Commission, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to follow all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Today we hear much said about “God is love” (1 John 4:8), which is true, but it’s also true that at the same time, He demands justice. Apart from His greatest gesture of love, Christ’s atoning death on the cross as payment for sins and His resurrection, people remain “dead in their trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
We’re clearly told in the Scriptures that the Lord’s promise of redemption and eternal life comes with one condition. As John 1:12 states, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” The gift of eternal life Jesus described in John 3:16 must be received, just as a gift of any kind is of no value unless it’s accepted by the intended recipient.
Which brings us to our role as followers of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote about this to believers in ancient Rome, explaining many have not received this divine gift because they haven’t heard the Good News – at least not in a way that they understood:
“How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are not sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15).
This is not an admonishment for us to invite people to church to hear our pastor’s sermon. For many people with whom we work, interact with every day, even live near, we are “Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We’re to take the Gospel message to them.
We can applaud and admire the selfless commitment of someone like Oskar Schindler, who upon ‘seeing the light’ set out to save as many as he could from an unspeakable death. But in terms of eternity, this life we have is nothing more than a blink of an eye. As a child wisely observed, “Eternity is a really long time.”
Should we not feel an even greater urgency to tell those around us about the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Don’t we want our loved ones, friends, coworkers and neighbors to “have life, and to have it abundantly,” as Jesus promised in John 10:10? Starting as soon as possible?
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Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor, and magazine editor. Bob has written, co-authored and edited more than 20 books. These include ”Marketplace Ambassadors”; “Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace”; “Tufting Legacies,” “The Heart of Mentoring,” and “Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart.” He writes and edits a weekly business meditation, “Monday Manna,” which is translated into nearly 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. The address for Bob's blog is www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. His email address is btamasy@comcast.net.