Lest We Forget — Forget What?

Saturday, November 11, 2023
Listen to this devotional:
Listen while you read: "O God Our Help In Ages Past"1 (Lyrics)

Each Remembrance Day, November 11, we hear the familiar words, "Lest we forget". It's been said that we're at risk of forgetting what's most important. I ask then, what exactly must we never forget?

Indisputably, we can't forget the devastation of war, fallen soldiers, and costly sacrifices. I can't forget my family's courageous leadership in the Dutch Resistance efforts to protect Jewish people from extermination. I can't forget their motive expressed by my grandfather, Bouwe Zylstra, in his memoir: "We could not keep our hearts and homes closed to these persecuted people." Opa added, "We were aware of the danger; but we were also assured that the Lord had given us the task, namely to love our neighbour. And He who called us was with us."

I can't forget the family stories, like my aunt's. Tante Tini was head nurse in a Dutch hospital which supported the Resistance. She distributed ration coupons and operated secret radio communications. The hospital director, Dr. van der Velde, forged health records to protect citizens from Nazi work camps, and so forth. One day, this underground operation was betrayed. When the authorities arrived, Tini was not wearing her head nurse uniform, so she wasn't taken. She attempted to warn Dr. van der Velde, but was too late. The doctor was shot to death.

One of the patients, Herman, had been a commander in a resistance group. During a raid, his brother was killed, and Herman was seriously injured. Six bullets tore open his intestines, and the surgeon gave little hope. Knowing that the enemy would be hunting for him, Tini smuggled him to a nearby house and cared for him. He recovered, and eventually, they were married. After the war, they emigrated to Canada, along with the rest of Opa and Oma's family.

I appreciate my family heritage, along with the medals, monuments, and the memorials at Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum in Israel. Yet, I can't forget Opa's lament over countless lives lost through betrayals by collaborators.

Post-war revenge against those considered to have betrayed their country was often cruel, involving unrestrained humiliation and lynch mob behaviours. The cry for justice lingered like undefused bombs in the soul, a toxic pent-up energy waiting to be dissipated on fellow citizens.

History reveals how evil humans can become, even in trying to eradicate evil. Surely then, we must never forget the following truths:

  • "To do evil a human being must first of all believe that what he's doing is good. … The line between good and evil passes, not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart." – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

  • "Though some of the horrors of war and the uncertainties of life have gone from the family scene, the root cause is still the same: the sin and rebellion against God which is part of our human nature." – Opa Bouwe Zylstra

  • "There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." – Romans 3:22b-24 NASB

  • "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the Lord." – Romans 12:19 NLT

Prayer: Lord, may we never forget the lingering wounds of conflict and war which descendants silently carry within, such as shame, guilt, and bitterness. May we also never forget Your restorative gift of grace which can bring healing through forgiveness, reconciliation, and new hope in Christ. Amen.

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About the author:

Diane Eaton <dianeeaton6@gmail.com>
Paisley, Ontario, Canada

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1 Comment

  • PresbyCan Feedback says:

    Dear Diane,
    Interesting that you wrote about your family being involved during the second world war. My uncle was working for the underground as well and was not safe. One day he took me for a walk when I was 2 years old, and then he noticed a person who was an opponent, I don’t know how they were called. My uncle wanted to help his Dutch brothers and sisters. He dropped me off at a gas station close by our house and asked the mechanic to drop me off at our house, which was done. My uncle raced away for safety to a nearby store, I still remember the name, and they hid him until it was safe for him to go elsewhere to hide.
    When he became older, he got dementia, but remembered much about the war.
    You chose a very meaningful title for your devotional this morning. Remembrance Day is a day not to forget, that’s for sure.
    Blessings from the Lord as well as His unfailing love!
    What a wonderful heritage, Diane.


    Thank you, Diane, for today’s devotion.
    (ON)


    Amen! Thank you, Diane. May God bless and keep you!
    (N. S.)


    Thank you for your devotional today and your reminders.
    Keep writing.


    Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us today.
    Blessings.


    Diane, I read this with tears and prayers for our world today. Thank you so much for this reminder to never forget.


    A great honor to have your writing testimony of life, sacrifice, and love for others. What a precious heritage. “Lest We Forget them”.


    Thank you for sharing. We have not learned – violence, hate, killing the innocent in Gaza, Israel – revenge does not love and forgiveness.


    Thank you so much for sharing this powerful devotional. Your family was so brave knowing that the Lord was with them, yet still so many lives senselessly lost.


    Thank you for your touching tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. A freedom we can take for granted if we do not remember how we got here. Amen.


    Good Morning
    Thank you so much for your thoughts and choices of Scripture.
    Every blessing to you and yours.


    Diane, thank you for sharing your family’s stories from WW2, your reflections on them, and the quotes from wise men and from God’s Word. I was especially blessed by your closing prayer.


    My father was very active in the Dutch resistance movement as well and risked his life more than once saving Canadian soldiers. These brave Christians must also be remembered and honoured today.


    Greetings Diane
    Thank you for sharing such an amazing experience your family had. They were very courageous. I always enjoy your devotions.


    Thank you so much for your devotional! Your family perspective really helped me understand more fully the sacrificial work of so many and our need for such work today to continue that remembrance.


    Good afternoon, Diane,
    Thank you for your good words this morning. It brought back many memories.
    I wish you and yours a blessed Sunday.


    Dear Diane,
    Thank you for your touching message today. How can we ever forget the atrocities of war and the suffering that comes with it. Let us continue to pray for Peace here on earth.
    Peace!


    Presbyterian daily readings.
    Your words have lifted me up today. May God be our Guide always as we try in our small corner of the world to be a light in the darkness as wars rage.
    May God richly bless you in all your endeavours.
    (Ontario)


    Diane, I have read your message several times now. Thank you for sharing this powerful, thought-provoking, devotional and scriptural reminder concerning revenge. May our Lord Jesus bless you exceedingly as you have blessed us with insight from the liberated’s perspective.
    (Nova Scotia)


    Mankind can be indescribably cruel but, on this day, and all others, I pray that we will never forget the good brave folk who gave, and continue to give, so much.
    Let us never forget.
    We will remember them.
    Blessings to you and your family, Diane.
    (On)


    Thanks, Diane, for your very meaningful devotional on this Remembrance Day of reflecting back on the suffering endured by so many in times past. Sadly, atrocious behaviours are still happening in today’s world, and it is so important that more people seek Jesus and become more attentive to His loving ways and follow His word of peace and care. Blessings for this writing and sharing about your family background.


    These stories of remembrance are sacred Jewells, Diane. Blessings.


    Thank you, Diane.
    The sharing of your personal heritage has been very touching and a fine contribution for the readers of The Daily. Lest we forget.


    A wonderful message. On the other hand, I wonder why we are not allowed to forgive those who have moved on to give so much to their Canadian community but are vilified for having been on the “wrong side “as the Ukrainian Canadians recently in the news.


    Thanks, Diane, for an illuminating devotional on Remembrance Day. It reminded me of a book purchased in 1968, To Resist Or Surrender by Paul Tournier. He wrote in chapter 1 about Germans confronting one another after WWII. In the case of judges, those who resisted stayed in the court system to ameliorate unjust Nazi laws and save some; those who surrendered simply resigned as judges rather than appear as compliant. It requires moral courage and grit to resist. Your remembering devotional is encouraging in that ordinary citizens were capable of doing the right thing when the time came for their generation to be tested.


    Hi Diane,
    Thanks so much for your “Lest we forget” message.
    I have my September 1944 war memories of the ” Battle of Arnhem” (“A Bridge too far”). I still also am thankful for the parents I had, who never made us children feel anxious.
    I also remember you showing your Israel trip pictures when your dad was honored as “A Righteous Person” for the work he did saving Jewish people from the German extermination programs.
    (ON)


    Wow, Diane, what a wonderful family heritage and a powerful lesson for us.

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