In his devotional book, Victorious Living, E. Stanley Jones, former US missionary to India, has seen hundreds of missionaries come out to India to serve the Lord there.  He observes that after serving for a year or longer, some become more self-giving, but some become more self-centered and even develop bad tempers and pride. He describes them as spiritual blurs; they are “serving Christ but not living like Him.”  Unfortunately, there are too many spiritual blurs.  They may wear the cross, but sadly, they are void of the cross. 

Corrie ten Boom shares that one of the hardest times of her life was the night after her sister Betsie passed away while they both were in Nazi’s concentration camp.  That night she could not sleep, she kept thinking about her beloved sister. It was then she saw a gaunt and thin woman walking down the aisle between the beds looking for a place to sleep. She recognized her as Russian, and Russians were not well-received in the prison camp’ that’s the reason she had no place to sleep. Because Betsie’s bed was empty, Corrie then motioned to the woman to sleep in Betsie’s bed, which she did.

They both then lay down facing each other, sharing the same pillow. Corrie wanted to talk to her but couldn't because she did not speak Russian, so in the end, she gently asked her, “Jesoes Christoes?” The moment she heard the Name, she exclaimed, “Oh!”  She then made the sign of the cross, threw her arms around Corrie and kissed her.  That night, in her deep sorrow after losing a sister, God brought a “sister” to Corrie.  And the Russian woman in her deep sorrow not only for being in prison but also for being shunned by the others, found a sister in Corrie.  Both found each other because both had Jesus of the cross in their hearts.  No matter what the situation is, it doesn’t matter where we are, so long as we have Jesus of the cross, we will be all right. We will serve Christ, live like Him, be led by Him.

Pastor Paul