Our Dutch friend Harry has a friend and fellow countryman named Anne van de Bijl who is also known as Brother Andrew. John and Elizabeth Sherrill, who told Corrie ten Boom’s story in ‘The Hiding Place’, published ‘God’s Smuggler’ in the late 1960’s. The book has been translated into 35 languages and has sold over ten million copies.
“If you have a heart for the Jews but not a heart for the Palestinians, you don’t have the heart of God… and if you have a heart for the Palestinians but not a heart for the Jews, you don’t have the heart of God,” is an example of Brother Andrew’s wisdom that has impacted the ministry of Harry and Dagmar in Israel over the past decades. Regarding a visit to Andrew’s home in Holland, Harry said: “What impressed me most was his prayer group, a small band of same-aged friends he prayed with before going on his trips around the globe. The group had only 5 to 6 people in it and accompanied him throughout his entire lifetime of ministry.”
Brother Andrew is in his 90’s now and the impact of his life is immense. Not only did he smuggle thousands and thousands of Bibles into Communist countries behind the Iron Curtain, he started Open Doors, an organization that serves believers in lands where persecution is most severe.
Brother Andrew sets an example for those of us who want to follow Jesus: surrender your life, ask for God’s direction, pray with others who have faith, trust, obey…
When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey.
I believe Brother Andrew would emphasize: “God is faithful to ALL who will trust and obey…”
Of course we’ll be uncomfortable at times; of course we’ll make mistakes; of course we’ll be asked to sacrifice; of course we’ll face hardship… but this is how it has always been. Jesus is the Head; He is the Way… and He says: “Take up your cross and follow Me.”
As a new Christian in his twenties with a desire to reach the lost, Andrew accepted an invitation for all interested young people to come to a socialist festival in Warsaw, Poland. Sitting on a bench with Bible in hand, he heard music and looked up to witness the ‘Parade of Triumph’ advancing down the avenue.
They marched because they believed. They marched eight abreast: healthy, vital, clean-cut. They marched singing, and their voices were like shouts. On and on they came for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, rank after rank of young men and young women.
The effect was overwhelming. These were the evangelists of the twentieth century. These were the people who went about shouting their good news. And part of the news was that the old shackles and superstitions of religion, the old inhibiting ideas about God, no longer held. Man was his own Master: the future was theirs to take…
The Bible in my lap lay open, pages ruffling in the morning breeze. I put down my hand to hold them still and found that I was looking at the book of Revelation. My fingers were resting on a page almost as they were pointing. “Awake,” said the verse at my fingertips, “and strengthen what remains and is on to the point of death…”
Suddenly I realized that I was seeing the words through a blur of tears. Could it be that God was speaking them to me right now, telling me that my life work was here behind the Iron Curtain, where His remnant Church was struggling for its life? Was I to have some part in strengthening this precious thing that remained?
But that was ridiculous! How could I? As far as I know, back then in 1955, there was not a single missionary working in this largest of all mission fields. What could I, one person without funds or organization, do against an overwhelming force like the one passing in front of me now?
But Brother Andrew did make a difference! As he trusted God and obeyed Him, he experienced the provision and protection of the One who is above all. Now he invites others to pray, to give, and to serve their brothers and sisters who are suffering because they love and follow the One who died for us all.
“Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” Revelation 3:2-3
‘God’s Smuggler’ by Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, published by Signet, ©1968, p 82
If there’s one thing I hope to inherit from my dad, it’s his gentleness. I often see his tenderness with his great-grandchildren. I’ve witnessed the gentle way he cared for his aging mother, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 103. Recently Kinsey’s family visited my parents and watched Peepaw rescue a distressed animal. A day-old calf was caught in some briars and separated from its mother on the opposite side of a shallow creek. Peepaw carefully untangled it, picked it up, and walked it across the stream to be re-united with its mother.
My dad turns 88 on March 19 and happily continues his gentle ways with people and animals. Our grandson Wilkes turns 6 two days later. We got to join family and friends this past Sunday for an early birthday celebration in the park.
If you have not yet discovered ‘The Chosen’ video series about Jesus, find it online and watch it for free. Episode 3 is called ‘Jesus and the Children’ and shows the King of kings befriending a group of Hebrew kids. Don’t expect action-packed drama in this episode, but marvel at the gentleness, wisdom, and love displayed. Surely every parent wants their children to meet such a Man.
