So, I was invited to this study without knowing what the women were studying, and I was so excited when I went for the first time and Chuck Colson was on the video speaking on a biblical worldview! I love his writing and am sad that he is no longer on this earth to write and speak to the world. He had a brilliant mind and he truly used it for the glory of God.
I'm really no good at relaying brilliant thoughts of others (and I don't have any brilliant thoughts of my own to relay), but I wanted to try because our last week's study is just too good to keep to myself.
His point in this past video was "purpose" and "love." Colson spoke on the idea that we all have purpose - none of us are accidents, so we must treat all people with respect, while holding our worldview as the ultimate truth. He said we must stop being known for what we are against, and start being known for what we are for because we will never win the world by criticizing it. We must help the world realize that we would like to persuade them to take a look at the biblical worldview, not coerce them into our worldview. We will never argue anyone into heaven, and he has found the biblical worldview spoken through a humble personality will always prevail.
One of the great things about Colson is how he can tell an amazing story, with perfect clarity in about five sentences, a task that seems completely out of my reach. And, in the video at our Bible study he relayed a story of a man that he believed got to the heart of the gospel, which is to "overcome evil with good." This man knew his purpose and loved in the way the greatest commandment tells us to love. He won people over without criticizing. And, while he was murdered, his life prevailed. Jerzy Popieluszko was a Polish priest in the late 70s who spoke openly against the communist government, while preaching forgiveness and goodness over evil. In 1984, when he was 37, the priest was murdered by the government and it was said there was a fear of an uprising by those in Popieluszko's congregation, but the people chose forgiveness, just as the Bible teaches and just as Popieluszko preached. And, Chuck Colson said this man almost single handedly crushed the communist influence with his life and the lessons he taught. I couldn't find Colson's words on this man, but I found this small clip on BBC online.
About 250,000 people attended Father Popieluszko's funeral at his church in a Warsaw suburb on 3 November 1984.
For the first time in nearly three years, Lech Walesa was allowed to address the large crowd.
He said: "Solidarity lives because Popieluszko shed his blood for it."
The funeral remained peaceful and church wardens were allowed to control the crowds, with the police keeping a discreet distance.
Just two months later, in December 1984, three policemen and their superior were put on trial during which it emerged the priest had been severely beaten after trying to escape his kidnappers several times.
All four defendants - Captain Grzegorz Piotrowski, Leszek Pekala, Waldemar Chmielewski and Colonel Adam Petruszka - were jailed and have since been released.
Commentators said the fact that an open trial was allowed to take place indicated a rift within the government between hardliners who had allowed the murder to happen and General Jaruzelski who insisted the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
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