How the Gospel Saved a Hero

Henry was a hero to me. I met him while serving as a missionary and pastor in England. He was a WWII vet and I learned from him what it was like to be a soldier. I sat transfixed by his stories of landing on that blood-drenched beach on D-Day and the circumstances that led up to him being captured by Nazis behind enemy lines. This man had lived quite a life. I learned from him the cost that was paid for my freedom.

I learned from Henry what a hero really was. They don’t wear fancy costumes with a big “S” on their chest. Sometimes they are old men whose bodies are being slowly devoured by disease and who hobble into church with a cane.

Henry could tell most of his stories with ease. There was one story, however, that was much more difficult, one memory that had affected him in a far greater way than the others. One day Henry had to kill a child. He didn’t want to, he tried not to, but he was forced to, and it haunted him for almost fifty years. In WWII there was a group of kids called “Hitler’s kids,” children so brainwashed, so sold out to the cause that they became murderers. They were willing to give their own lives to kill enemy soldiers. One day Henry encountered such a child, about twelve years old he figured. This young kid started to approach Henry and his fellow soldiers. Henry did what he was told to do and started shouting “Halt” in German. He kept coming. Henry fired shots at his feet, which did nothing to stop him. Eventually this young boy reached into his coat and started to pull out a gun. Henry had no choice but to send him into eternity.

At that moment everything changed for Henry. A haunting fear entered into his life that could not be dispelled. He thought to himself, “Certainly anybody who kills a child will not be able to escape the fires of hell.” He was tormented. He started to drink to drive the fear away, but that did nothing. He asked to be put on the front lines in hopes of dying there, but he survived. He went to a priest, who told him to be faithful with the rosary beads – Henry knew that wasn’t the answer. Nothing he tried worked, so he lived with fear and guilt. He lived with nightmares. He lived with the thought of hell hounding him for almost fifty years!

Henry was in his seventies when he started attending our church. He came in and sat in the back. He was searching for something, anything, that might give him peace. One day I was speaking about the wonders of the cross and simply said, “The blood of Jesus is able to cleanse you from all sin. Past, present and future.” At that moment, Henry knew he had discovered what he’d been longing for. Henry trusted in the Savior and, in an instant, almost fifty years of guilt and fear were washed away. That is the unique power of the Gospel. There is no other message that can do something like that. What man couldn’t do for Henry, and what Henry couldn’t do for himself, Jesus did in a few minutes on a Sunday morning in a little church in Ashford, England. Henry was free!

It was a thrill to watch Henry fall in love with his Savior and begin to grow. He faithfully read his Bible until his eyesight began to fade. We provided a large print Bible so he could continue with his devotions. Henry’s only complaint was that he and his wife kept fighting over it because they both were reading God’s Word. When his eyesight became too weak to read the large print, we took him audio tapes of the Bible that he faithfully listened to.

One of the highlights of my time in England was the day I baptized Henry. I will never forget watching this man in his late seventies hobble up to the baptismal and willingly declare his allegiance to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. About a year after his baptism, Henry went to glory. I miss him and look forward to seeing him again. I thank God He entrusted me with the honor of baptizing a hero.

If this story has touched your heart, please feel free to leave a comment. This not only encourages me but also can start some wonderful discussions.