"If I were You and You were me."

This morning, like most mornings, I was having a hard time praying. I haven't read a good missionary biography in a while, so I took a look at our shelf and found a book I haven't yet read: Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand. I often like to read missionary biographies because they are a reminder of the high calling that Christ has for us and the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us. Richard Wurmbrand was a missionary to the Russian Communists in Romania. As I read, I stumbled upon a passage that I had read before in Jesus Freaks. I may have even quoted this passage on my blog in the past, but I don't care- I 'm going to do it again because I love it so much!

"An Orthodox priest, a friend of mine, telephoned me and told me that a Russian officer had come to him to confess. My friend did not know Russian. However, knowing that I speak Russian, he had given him my address. The next day this man came to see me. He longed for God, but he had never seen a Bible. He had no religious education and never attended religious services (churches in Russia then were very scarce). He loved God without the slightest knowledge of Him.

I read to him the Sermon on the Mount and the parables of Jesus. After hearing them, he danced around the room in rapturous joy proclaiming, "What a wonderful beauty! How could I live without knowing this Christ!" It was the first time that I saw someone so joyful in Christ.

Then I made a mistake. I read to him the passion and crucifixion of Christ, without having prepared him for this. He had not expected it and, when he heard how Christ was beaten, how He was crucified and that in the end He died, he fell into an armchair and began to weep bitterly. He had believed in a Savior and how his Savior was dead!

I looked at him and was ashamed. I had called myself a Christian, a pastor, and a teacher of others, but I had never shared the sufferings of Christ as this Russian officer now shared them. Look at him, it was like seeing Mary Magdalene weeping at the foot of the cross, faithfully weeping when Jesus was a corpse in the tomb.

Then I read to him the story of the resurrection and watched his expression change. He had not known that his Savior arose from the tomb. When he heard this wonderful news, he beat his knees and swore- using very dirty, but very "holy" profanity. This was his crude manner of speech. Again he rejoiced, shouting for joy, "He is alive! He is alive!" He danced around the room once more, overwhelmed with happiness!

"I said to him, "Let us pray!" He did not know to pray. He did not know our "holy" phrases. He fell on his knees together with me and his words of prayer were: "Oh God, what a fine chap you are! If I were you and you were me, I would never have forgiven You of Your sins. But You really are a very nice chap! I love You with all of my heart."

I think that the angels in heaven stopped what they were doing to list to this sublime prayer from a Christian officer. The man had been won for Christ!"