13 Jan, 2010
How Far Would You Go?
Woman Who Hid Anne Frank, Rescued Her Diary Dies at Age 100
AMSTERDAM — Miep Gies, the office secretary who defied the Nazi occupiers to hide Anne Frank and her family for two years and saved the teenager's diary, has died, the Anne Frank House museum said Tuesday. She was 100.
Gies died from a neck injury sustained in a fall at her home shortly before Christmas, museum spokeswoman Annemarie Bekker said.
Gies was the last of the few non-Jews who supplied food, books and good cheer to the secret annex behind the canal warehouse where Anne, her parents, sister and four other Jews hid for 25 months during World War II.
Story provided by foxnews.com.
Romans 13:8-9 (The Message)
Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don't sleep with another person's spouse, don't take someone's life, don't take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other "don't" you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can't go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.
What does God's Story scripture teach us about loving others?
Paul, as he writes these words to the church in Rome, makes a huge statement. His statement is that above anything else, love is most important. This is a big statement, because to a Jew the "law" was life. The law determined how you dressed, ate, and did business. The law spoke into every aspect of your life. Paul, knowing that, tells the readers of his letter; all is summed up in one phrase: "Love your neighbor." Paul is challenging the way people have thought for thousands of years. First century Jews focused on the law, but Paul writes them saying if you will focus on loving people, the other stuff will take care of itself.
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
Paul's words aren't just for the first century. They also don't mean we only love those who love us. Jesus set the example first, and then throughout history people like Miep have followed in Jesus' footsteps. Jesus demonstrated love to us by obediently dying on a cross. He didn't have to; he could have called down angels to fight for him. Instead he loved us enough to die for us.
Miep continued that tradition by loving the Frank family. She didn't have to, but she chose to. Each day lots of people walk in and out of our lives, and they all have a story that we don't know. We get to choose to love those people or not. How far would you go to show love? Miep said she didn't want people to think of her as a hero, because then people might think only heroes could do the right thing. She tells us that loving should just be part of us. What a challenge! Will you accept that charge?
How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture, and our story to others?
The same question stands: how far would you go to show love? The love Jesus showed us has changed eternity. The love that Miep showed the Franks has changed countless lives and helped write history. Will you do the human thing and love people even when they seem unlovable?
Your friends and many people around you need someone to show them real, genuine love. Are you willing to be that person? Jesus will give you strength to love. Miep is encouragement that we can love even in desperate situations.
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