Voices: Would you wear a star?

Would you save a life?

If your child was grabbed by an assailant, would you fight to save that baby, even risking your life to do so? I bet you would.

Of course, we never really know until the moment presents itself. But you and I both believe we would.

I believe any who would give their lives for their child would be greater than any star on Broadway. In fact, the shows we love the most are those that depict the real heroes in our day-to-day lives who do lay down their lives for their children.

Would you die for your spouse? You had to think for a moment, didn’t you?

I think it is an honest pause.

To be fully truthful, in our hearts, we know there lingers a question. Many say they would die for their spouse, but they won’t turn off the television to listen to them. We won’t leave the toilet seat down for our wives. We won’t watch football with our husbands. But die for them? It’s easy to say, “Yes,” but the practical tells a different story.

However, the love stories we treasure are the ones where love sacrifices. Jack giving his place on the floating plank for Rose in The Titanic comes to mind. Who was the real star, DiCaprio who acted or Jack who sacrificed?

The harder question: Would you come to the defense of a woman being attacked on a transit bus?

A 27-year-old in Delaware died trying to protect a woman and her baby from being killed by an attacker with a knife. He was honored, but I wonder how many who were there were happier to live, to go home to be with their own families?

Marked with a star

An 80-year-old man living in Holland saw his neighbors being beaten, refused lodging and work, forced to stay within a certain area of the city. They were given only an hour each day to shop for food. They were forced to wear a star on their shirts to identify themselves as the repulsed ones.

Why a star? Because they believed in the One True God. They were people from an ancient nation whose flag featured the star of their greatest king—David. They were forced to wear the star to show what race they were, so they could be singled out for abuse.

Would you stand for them? If you could have, would you have helped the young girl named Anne Frank?

That 80-year-old man was not Jewish. He was a Dutch Christian. He was a watchmaker in an area of Amsterdam called Harlem. What did it matter to him what others faced? He was not Jewish. He wasn’t singled out. In fact, that whole part of town respected him.

He was a generous employer. He fed soup to the hungry each day through the side door of his home. He held Bible study each morning with his wife, two daughters, employees and any neighbor who sought to join.

He was making a difference in his community. He was keeping his family safe. Why get involved? Plus, he was too old to make any real difference. Obey the government. Trust everything will work out in time.

His name was Casper ten Boom—80 years old, not Jewish, with a family he had to take care of.

Wearing a star

You know what he did? He had a star made for his shirt. He left his home every day wearing the same star as the Jewish people. He would not let them suffer while he lived in ease.

When the Jews were being beaten, Mr. ten Boom would approach. The assailants would pull back from the abuse. Why? This old man, they knew, was not Jewish. Yet, he identified with their suffering. His statement: If you do this to my neighbors, then do it to me.

Things got worse. So, he began to hide the Jews in his own home, risking his family.

One day, a preacher was asked to help hide a Jewish mother and baby. The ten Boom family had no more room. The preacher said: “I can’t hide them. My family might be killed.”

Casper ten Boom reached for the baby. He said: “You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.”

It wasn’t long after, Mr. ten Boom and his daughters were arrested. Casper and his daughter Betsie died in the prison camps. Only the daughter Corrie survived. They helped save more than 800 Jews from the persecution of their day.

Would you?

It is being repeated on our college campuses and on the streets around the world. They are chanting, “Burn the Jews,” and “From the river to the sea.” They are demanding all ties with Israel be cut, that no Jewish professor be allowed to teach.

A star? Let me wear one. Please give me a yarmulke—or skull cap—too. I will identify with the Jewish people. I will stand with them. Let me suffer with them, as I suffer for the Savior who loves them.

Johnny Teague is the senior pastor of Church at the Cross in West Houston and the author of several books. The views expressed are those of the author.