God Behind Barbed Wire

A survey of the life of Jurgen Moltmann, Nazi soldier turned theologian, reveals a remarkable story of hope and redemption. In this article, Philip Yancey shares with us a glimpse of the miraculous transforming power of God's grace. Yancey writes...

Moltmann had no Christian background. He had brought two books with him into battle—Goethe's poems and the works of Nietzsche—neither of which nourished much hope. But an American chaplain gave him an Army-issue New Testament and Psalms, signed by President Roosevelt. "If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there," the prisoner read. Could God be present in that dark place? As he read on, Moltmann found words that perfectly captured his feelings of desolation. He became convinced that God "was present even behind the barbed wire—no, most of all behind the barbed wire."

This is what we must communicate to this lost and dying world; that God is right there where you are, crying with you, hurting with you, suffering with you, longing to transform you in the midst of life's storms into an oasis of calm.