As a child, Corrie Ten Boom went with her mother to visit a woman who had just lost her baby, and the visit haunted her for the rest of the day. She couldn’t even enjoy the “best moment in every day,” as she later wrote in her autobiography:
“At last we heard Father’s footsteps winding up the stairs. It was the best moment in every day, when he came up to tuck us in. We never fell asleep until he had arranged the blankets in his special way and laid his hand for a moment on each head. Then we tried not to move even a toe.
“But that night as he stepped through the door I burst into tears. ‘I need you!’ I sobbed. ‘You can’t die! You can’t!’
“Father sat down on the edge of the narrow bed. ‘Corrie,’ he began gently, ‘when you and I go to Amsterdam, when do I give you your ticket?’ I sniffed a few times, considering this. ‘Why, just before we get on the train.’
“‘Exactly. And our wise Father in Heaven knows when we’re going to need things too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need — just in time.’”
Sometime later in her life, Ten Boom heard someone say a word that sounded inappropriate, but she asked her mother to define it, her mother refused.
So she asked her father to define it during a train trip.
“He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case off the floor and set it on the floor.
“‘Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?’ he said.
“I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.
“‘It’s too heavy,’ I said.
“‘Yes,’” he said, “’and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.’”
Years later, the adult Ten Boom and her family hid Jews during World War II, but Nazis eventually apprehended them and sent them to concentration camps.
Her father soon died, and the Nazis cast him into a massive grave — just another anonymous corpse, as far as they cared.
But God used his wisdom to help inspire his daughter to survive, and because of his legacy, she left a legacy that has literally inspired people worldwide.
I thought of Ten Boom’s father, Casper, and his legacy Friday as I reflected on the legacy my father left. He died eight years ago this week, and yet like Casper Ten Boom, he lives on through those God inspired through him.
And of course, he lives today, thanks to the love and grace of His Heavenly Father. Perhaps he’s already shared a meal with Casper and Corrie Ten Boom.
For the next year, a lot of people will flood the airwaves and social media to tell people that they matter, matter enough that people should vote for them. They are searching for a legacy.
But as Casper Ten Boom, my father and many other anonymous saints remind Christians, people don’t need politics, power, fame or fortune to leave a world-changing legacy.
The ones who leave the best legacies are those who live faithfully for their Heavenly Father.
A man who leaves a legacy
Leaves more than land and things
He leaves a love that never dies
And faith that always testifies
Of God’s grace and sovereignty
A man who leaves a legacy
Will change the world each day
For we have learned to live for Christ
Because he showed us sacrifice
In countless, blessed ways
A man who leaves a legacy
Will hear the words, “Well done.
You’ve honored me at home, at work
And you were faithful through the hurt
My joy is yours, my son
baumofchet@gmail.com
