‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ – Matthew 5.10
From Sam Lomas:
Recently I have been reading ‘God’s Smuggler’ by Brother Andrew. In the book, Brother Andrew tells his life story explaining the amazing ways in which God led him to be a missionary across Soviet controlled Eastern Europe in the years after the Second World War. Brother Andrew shares stories of smuggling Bibles into countries where distributing or simply owning a Bible could see you end up in prison. His ministry would eventually lead to the formation of Open Doors, who are one of our mission partners.
One particular train of thought that runs throughout the book is something that Brother Andrew calls, ‘The Royal Way’. The Royal Way is how Brother Andrew describes the manner in which God both provided for his needs and made a way for his ministry to succeed even when it seemed impossible.
Brother Andrew tells stories of times when he was in severe financial need, explaining how the Lord provided for his needs in the most remarkable ways. Brother Andrew would never grovel or seek to take advantage of people, instead through God’s goodness, ‘The Royal Way’, money would be provided. Brother Andrew writes about how early on in his ministry he, “discovered that when God supplied money, He did it in a kingly manner, not in some grovelling way”.
On other occasions, while smuggling Bibles into Soviet controlled Eastern Europe, Brother Andrew knew that he would fail to cross borders if he tried to do so in his own strength. And so, remembering ‘The Royal Way’, he chose not to manipulate the soldiers at the border crossings, but instead to act in accordance with Jesus’ kingly manner (The Royal Way). Brother Andrew would often leave Bibles in plain view of soldiers so as not to deceive them – trusting that the Lord would provide a way through.
The concept of following Jesus’ Royal Way has really challenged me to pause before I act on something and consider to myself, “Is this The Royal Way?” or “Would King Jesus approve of what I am about to do?” Asking these questions has been helpful for me.
Why not consider ‘The Royal Way’ for yourself? Check yourself before you act – your integrity and faith will no doubt be strengthened if you do.
You can purchase ‘God’s Smugger’ here: 10 of those: God’s Smuggler
You can find out more about Open Doors here: opendoorsuk.org
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