Protecting the Innocent

Steven Spielberg’s 1994 movie “Schindler’s List” portrays the story of businessman Oskar Schindler who saved many innocent lives when he arranged to have his workers protected from extermination by the SS in the Krakow ghetto. In the film Spielberg showed several scenes like the one above of a little girl in a red coat that symbolized “innocence”. In a scene near the end of the movie the little girl still in her red coat is pictured on a pile of bodies that had been executed symbolizing the slaughter of many innocent lives during the Holocaust.

Pictured above is 107-year-old Mimi Rinehart who typed Schindler’s list. It is a reminder for us that love movies that sometimes we forget that the stories being portrayed really did happen. There is the lady that physically typed the list that literally spared the slaughter of dozens of innocent lives. There is the picture of the real man who was responsible for the list that saved those lives. It is hard to imagine the personal risk and sacrifice that was made by this man and this woman to save the innocent from death. Our faith tells us that there no greater act of love than this. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” I would guess that Mr. Schindler or Ms. Rinehart knew few if any of the people for whom they were laying their lives down. Our faith tells us that they acted in great love without knowing them but only their circumstances.

Pictured above is actress Olivia Dabrowska who was the little girl in the red coat in Spielberg’s movie who currently spends her days helping Ukranian refugees at the Polish border. Similar to Mimi Rinehart and Oskar Schindler she has set aside the priority of her profession to help respond to the need of the moment which is saving the lives of the innocent people of Ukraine. God’s methods have not changed over the centuries. The only things that have changed are the types of atrocities being committed and the cast of people responding to save the lives of the innocent. This is the paradox of God’s creation. How can the heart of man be so bad and be so good at the same time? “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) It is very simple. Whatever we store up in our heart will flow out in our actions.

There is no one more innocent than a child. Scripture assigns a high measure of value to the innocence of a child in the Kingdom of God. “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Mathew 18:6). The context of the verse deals with the innocence of a child but the application of text broadens to all the innocent by adding the words “who believe in Me”. In other words, any one causing harm to an innocent victim is subject to severe judgement in God’s economy. It does not take much imagination to understand the suffering involved being cast into the deep with a cement necktie. With such a severe penalty for harming innocent victims, it stands to reason that anyone risking their life to save them would be characterized as having great love in the eyes of God! Well done, Olivia! Well done, Mimi! Well done, Oskar! May many more like them rise up during these days in Ukraine to protect the innocent! Amen and Amen.