I've thought a lot about what this word means lately. There are times in life when we all feel like victims. Let's face it: life is tough.
I just finished reading the Hiding Place for a class I'm teaching in the Fall. Now THERE is an example of victimization! The Jews in the 1940s were victims of the Holocaust, of hate, of betrayal, and of a cruelty that most of us can't even imagine. The tenBoom family in Holland was victim to the Nazi movement as well. They chose to help and hide Jews from this cruelty, and they were imprisoned, beaten, placed in concentration camps, and (some) were even killed. Surely this family had the right to call themselves victims!
What blew my mind is that they didn't.
To Betsie ten Boom, every new place they were led, every darkest prison they experienced, every person who beat and screamed at them was an opportunity to share Christ's love and Gospel. Who did she see as victims? The Nazis. She said over and over to her sister Corrie while in a concentration camp: "Corrie! These people can be taught to hate, so they can be taught to love! We must do something for them when we get out of this place." Her father, Caspar, was the same way. When they saw Nazis leading Jews away, he said, "I fear for them, Corrie. They have touched the apple of God's eye." He died from his imprisonment. A German leader told the elderly man that he'd like to let him go, so if Caspar would just tell him that he'd go home and "be good," then he was free to go. Caspar ten Boom stood tall and told the man that if he went home, he would still open his door to anyone in need. He chose not to be a victim of his circumstances, but to stand for what was right, to be the man God made him to be.
People say that circumstances shape us. I have come to believe that this statement is false. It becomes an excuse for a lesser existence, an excuse for the blame game. I believe that we are shaped through our RESPONSE to our circumstances. The tenBooms were not shaped by the horrors they experienced: the choices they made over and over for good, to trust God unflinchingly in all situations, made them who they were. They were an unbeatable force for God. They were never conquered. Not by Nazis, not by imprisonment, not by the concentration camps and cruelty beyond our ken. Their choices made them who they were. They had opportunities to share the Gospel and demonstrate God's love and be a beacon of Light, and they believed they were BLESSED because of this. God was with them, showing His provision and love every step they took. They saw the world through God's eyes and were at peace, no matter where they were. They were not victims: they were victors.
I believe we can make the same choices they did. We do not have to experience a concentration camp to trust God daily and love others. One at a time, we can make choices that define who we are in Christ: to love, to forgive, to see beyond earthly sin and circumstances, and to be at peace in our heavenly Father. Don't let earthly standards and "your rights" define your life. Cling to God and ask for His eyes in this world. Only then can we rise from victim to victor.
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