The Power of Love

There was a POW named Ernest Gordon
who was captured by the Japenese in WWII and
sent to a concentration camp that was known
to be the worst.

Here are some words of his: Towards the spring of 1943 our captors became increasingly nervous that the railway would not be finished on time, and they vented their anxiety on us. When we did not work fast enough to suit them---which was most of the time—they beat us mercilessly. Many did not have the stamina to endure. Many just slid to the ground and died. Human life was cheap—they could always bring more prisoners—so they didn’t care. I saw a guard, enraged over a trifle shriek and throw a hammer at a prisoner’s head. I saw one get guard get so angry at two prisoners making ready a dynamite charge that he walked to the detonator while they were still holding it and blew them to pieces. Death was everywhere—and as conditions worsened our lives became ponisoned by selfishness and hate and fear. Formerly we had huddled together out of fear, believing in safety in numbers. We had shown some consideration for one another natural. Now that was gone, swept away. Existence had become so miserable the odds so heavy against us, that nothing mattered except to survive. We lived by the rule of the jungle---the evolutionary law of the survival of the fittest. It was a cae of “I look out for myself and to hell with everyone else. Everyone was his own keeper—all the restraints of morality were gone..and then one afternoon something happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced or else. When nobody in the squad budged, the offer go his gun and threatened to kill us all on the spot. Then on man stepped forward. The offer put away his gun. Picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death.

At the 2^nd tool check this time no shovel was missing—there had been a miscount at the first check point. The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing ot die to save others!!..The incident had a profound effect..The men began to treat each other like brothers. Another man was caught trading with the local people for medincines for a dying comrade and was sentenced to death. He submitted to it reading a little bible and then cheering up the chaplain right before his execution. Death was still with us—non doubt about that. But we wre being slowly freed from its destructive grip. We were seeing forces that make for like and those that make for death. Selfishness, hatred, jealously, and greed were all anit-life. Love self sacrifice, mercy on the other hand were the essence of life turing mere existence into living in its truest sense. These were gifts to us…