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Themes: "Sinful Nature, All Have Sinned, No Difference J.M. It was an warm Spring morning in Ohrdruf, Germany, in April of 1945, when the mayor of the town stood at his door. The war was over. What would become of the Jewish prisoners? he wondered. Looking one way, he saw smoke rising from the concentration camp at Ohrdruf. The Germans were still killing Jews. Burning their bodies. The burgermeister, for that is what he was called in German, shuddered. Yes, he was a German, too. But he did not kill Jews like Hitler did. Instead he stayed alive by keeping silent. Would you say that he was brave, smart, or a coward?
Looking the other way, he heard the rumble of American trucks, carrying American soldiers to free the prisoners. Remembering the smoke, he thought that they had come too late. The burgermeister closed his eyes, trying to shut out the memory of Jews arriving at Ohrdruf, Starved , and very scared. Had he helped them? No. He had stayed quiet. Why should he be killed by Hitler's men for standing up for these poor Jews?
What would you call him? Brave, smart or a coward?
Later that day, the burgermeister and his wife stood before Colonel Haydon Sears, commander of the soldiers that came to free the prisoners at the camp. Colonel Sears made them look at the torture chambers. The huge graves. The ovens where the bodies were burnt.
"I didn't know anything about this." the burgermeister lied.
"Couldn't you smell it?" asked the Colonel harshly. The smell of death hung around the camp, making the burgermeister sick to his stomach.
"I smell it now, but I didn't before this." he replied. As he left, the burgermeister hung his head. He, a proud German, loyal to his country, and mayor of a large town, found that he was not as good as he had thought. He was a scared, cowardly man who ran from the truth. He had known, and yet had done nothing.
What would you call him now?
It took a terrible event to show him what was inside his heart already. He cared more for himself than for others. This is what is natural or normal for us all. That is why we cannot even begin to keep the ten commandments. We cannot love our neighbor as ourself.
It does not take a terrible event such as this to show you your heart. God's Word already teaches us that we are sinners and need a Savior?
What would you call yourself? A sinner?
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Peter Orasuk
