THE LESSON OSKAR SCHINDLER LEAVES US ALL

     In the days when Jesus Christ walked this earth there was a maxim held among the Jews concerning the 6th Commandment: “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex.20:13). This maxim admonished every Jew that a failure to serve the wellbeing of life and fellow man is to do evil: to neglect to save life is to kill.

     It was on this principle that Christ displayed its supreme fulfillment. And all along the way in His short journey to the Cross of Calvary He manifested the perfection of this principle where “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Matt.11:5.

     Enter: Oskar Schindler. He was a German industrialist during World War II. And his story is precious when we examine the slow but sure conversion of his heart from stone to flesh. Starting out as a war profiteer, his ambition to amass a fortune for himself stood as the sole object of his affection. But over time and the circumstances where his conscience was being continually pricked by the extreme abuses of the Nazi war machine against their Jewish victims, he discovered his own frailty in standing with those whose spirit of cruelty was abhorrent to his soul.

     And so, having turned the corner, from evil to righteousness, he spent the entire fortune he had amassed to save the Jewish workers under his care. This one man saved 1,200 men and women from the demonic slaughterhouse that was the Nazi regime. In the movie, Schindler’s List, in the closing scenes, Oskar realized that there was more he could’ve done. He had an expensive ring, and a luxury car that if sold would have saved more souls from being murdered. And he wept with remorse that he did not make use of the last of his wealth to save life.

     It is on this righteous principle that we are to give careful, prayerful attention. As this world winds down and the prophecies of the final display of religious tyranny [masquerading under the Christian name (Rev.13:15)] rises to the throne of human government, those who stand faithful to Christ and the wisdom of His counsel will be placed in unfavorable conditions. Man is soon to face desperation for his own survival (Lu.21:11). And the desperate measures the religionists will undertake will intensify (Job 2:4). While time lasts, the saints are to have their possessions on the altar, and GOD will urge upon them when the time comes to dispose of them and to invest in their “treasure in heaven.” This is part and parcel of the call of Christ: “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” Mk.10:21

     To turn one’s back on the privilege and honor to obey the Saviour’s every admonition is a denial of Him. And every denial of Christ calls for repentance. To do otherwise will leave a weight of regret that will crush the faith of anyone who holds on to the things that will one day pass away. Because the day is soon to come when the closing scenes of Earth’s history are to pick up the pace, as it is written: “For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Rom.9:28.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev.22:12.