Another excerpt from This Is Our Time is available online. This one was published in Shattered Magazine, and tells the story of my father-in-law’s conversion from Communist ideology to Christianity.
Florin, a bright and enthusiastic 24-year-old Romanian, received a summons from the president of the Communist commission in his city. Although his strong work ethic and personal skills had helped him rise through the ranks of the Communist Party, Florin expected this visit with the authorities to be filled with tension. Everything would change. He would be excluded from the Party, or worse.
For several years Florin had devoted himself to spreading Communist propaganda in support of the Party. He had served for sixteen months in the military, where he was stationed among missiles and rockets. He had been a fervent defender of Communist ideology.
One night, his devotion to the cause led him through the doors of a Baptist church—as a spy.
Most of the Communist leaders in Romania did not believe in God; they sought to hasten the demise of organized religion, so they reduced the church’s involvement in politics. They shuttered charities, shut down church schools and colleges, and stopped all religious teaching in the school system.
As part of the crackdown on religious expression, Communist officials asked Florin to attend a series of revival meetings in a Baptist church in his city.
“I was there to take notes,” he said later, “to see who was aligning with the Christians and then inform the secret police about the proceedings.”
Although he was committed to the Communist Party, Florin was curious about the Christians and their foolish beliefs and practices. On the night he stepped into the church building as a spy, Florin was stunned by the preacher’s message.
Read the whole article here.
