Thoughts on Irena Sendler

My sister likes to email me forwards. Normally, I disdain that sort of thing, but my sister has great taste in her forwards, most of the time. She sent me one today about a woman by the name of Irena Sendler. Irena worked in the Social Welfare Department as a health inspector in German occupied Poland during World War Two. During this time, she smuggled 2,500 Jewish babies out of Warsaw Ghettos as well as producing thousands of forged documents to help Jewish families. The Ghestapo arrested her, beat her, and sentanced her to death. On the way to her execution, some of her co-conspiritors against the Nazis bribed the guards to release her. They complied by leaving her with broken arms and legs, unconcious, in the woods. For the rest of the war, she lived in hiding.

While she was working to smuggle babies out of the ghettos, she wrote down the names of the childern that she took with the hope of being able to reunite them with family members after the war. The majority of the family members had been murdered or were missing.

When I read about the selfless work of this beautiful woman, I realized a clearer picture of who Jesus is. See, I've been having a bit of a hard time lately with the idea of Jesus intending us to fight injustice without violence. I can't conceive how to resolve some injustices that I read about in the news without violence, and this story speaks strongly to me about how it can be done, and one of the things I hear when I listen to this story is, "This is not cheap. This is not the easy way, but this is the right way."

I want to be like Irena. I want to see great value in other people, but sometimes I just see what is easy to see. To look into the depth of another human and to see past the behavior, and into the reflection of their creator, and to redeem that reflection is not cheap, is not easy, but it is right. Sometimes I am too conservative with my time and energy and I find myself holding back some of what I have to offer to those in need because I think that my time and energy can be used better on more fertile ground.

Tonight I have seen that my effectiveness has been robbed by my concern for efficiency. I must pour into those around me regardless of my estimation of their capacity of change or greatness, but with highest regard for the image of their maker imprinted on their souls.