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It was the time of World War II when Father Maximilian Kolbe was a
prisoner in the Concentration Camp of Auschwitz. One day every
10th prisoner was to be executed due to retaliatory
measure. Therefore all detainees had to line up and count up to
ten. Everyone who was a 10 pronounced the sentence of death
against himself. Father Kolbe was one of the many prisoners who
stood in front of the guards. Right beside him was a man, a 10,
whom Father Kolbe knew well. This man was married with many
children. Without hesitation Maximilian Kolbe asked the chief of
guard to be allowed to take the place of this man. His plea was
accepted immediately and thus father Maximilian Kolbe was
executed in place of the other man the same day.
What an unselfish sacrifice! I can imagine how thankful the
other man was who would see his wife and children again.
However, I find this incident a powerful example for the work of
Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus suffered death and gave himself
as a sacrifice for humankind. Every single one of us deserves
the eternal death due to our lives without God. Whenever we live
our lives divided from God we do not live the purpose of our
lives. God created us so that we might live in peace and harmony
with him and with each other. Nevertheless, we give God the cold
shoulder way too often!
Others understand that they are missing something in their lives
and so they try to feed these yearnings with things that become
stale and insipid over time. Then we search for the purpose of
life and so often we feel threatened by the day-to-day worries.
We start to feel like a number 10! At this point it is vital to
recognize that there is someone who wants to switch places with
us; similar to Maximilian Kolbe. It is Jesus Christ himself who
offered his life for ours.
It is the season of Lent, the time before Good Friday and Easter
Sunday. It is a good time to reflect on the death of Christ on
the cross and what this means for me. John 3:16, “For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Deutsche Evangeliumskirche
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