God’s Smuggler

I love it when I come across a good book. Especially when it’s a book I’ve never heard of before.

My kids are part of a kid book club. I decided to read aloud one of the books on their list this year–God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew. It was a gem of a book about faith and trust in God.

God’s Smuggler is a true story about a rebellious young man-turned-missionary named Andrew. Andrew grew up in Holland before WWII where he dreamed of and sought out adventure. After the war, he joined the army and fought in the East Indies where he was eventually injured and returned home. Through a series of events and influential people, he discovered God’s hand in his life and decided to become a missionary. He traveled to Poland where he glimpsed how difficult it was to be a Christian in a communist country. He learned that the communist governments behind the iron curtain were not allowing Bibles to be printed. Andrew decided to smuggle bibles into Russia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Czechoslovakia, China and other countries. The story showed the miraculous ways in which God provided for Andrew and his companions as they spread the word of God throughout Communist Europe and Asia.

This video gives a short introduction to the book and shows a few of the miracles Andrew experienced.

Here are few quotes from the book.

• “The bigger the darkness, the easier it is to spot your little light.”
• “That’s the excitement in obedience, finding out later what God had in mind.”
• “What is it, Lord? What am I holding back? What am I using as an excuse for not serving You in whatever You want me to do?’ And then, there by the canal, I finally had my answer. My ‘yes’ to God had always been a ‘yes, but’. Yes, but I’m not educated. Yes, but I’m lame.
  With the next breath, I did say ‘Yes’. I said it in a brand-new way, without qualification. ‘I’ll go, Lord,’ I said, ‘no matter whether it’s through the route of ordination, or through the WEC programme, or through working on at Ringers’.’ Whenever, wherever, however You want me, I’ll go. And I’ll begin this very minute. Lord, as I stand up from this place, and as I take my first step forward, will You consider that this is a step towards complete obedience to You? I’ll call it the Step of Yes.” 
• “Don’t complain to yourselves that you can’t go to the mission field! Thank God for bringing the mission field to you!”
• “Why are we worried?! This is God’s work. He’ll make a way for us.”
• “In the years of living this life of faith, I have never known God’s care to fail.”
• “It was Sunday morning. I woke very early to a bright and cheery day, anxious to join my fellow Christians in this lovely garden of a land. The clerk in the hotel eyed me a little dubiously when I asked for a church. ‘We don’t have many of those, you know,’ he said. ‘Besides, you couldn’t understand the language.’
  ‘Didn’t you know?’ I said, ‘Christians speak a kind of universal language.’
  ‘Oh. What’s that?’
  ‘It’s called “agape”.’
  ‘Agape? I never heard of it.’
  ‘Too bad. It’s the most beautiful language in the world.” 

And a few discussion questions to ponder as you read the book.

• How can you trust God to work out the details?
• What is the next “yes step” you need to take?
• How did Brother Andrew experiment with faith?
• Brother Andrew teaches about faith. It looks like faith without action, but there is action. What actions did he and his companions take?
• What do we take for granted?
• What was the prayer of the God’s smuggler?
• Brother Andrew met a teacher in one of the refugee camps. He called her brave. She said she gave up. What would you say?
• How can you be a missionary in your own area?
• Brother Andrew was chastised for the poor way he lived. How is an attitude of lack unchristian?
• How can you be willing to be willing?

I hope you enjoy the book. Share your favorite part in the comments.

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