Sergei Kourdakov -- 5

The Power of God's Word - Part Two

"They are not just idle words for you--they are your life." Deut. 32:47

The raids that Sergei Kourdakov and his men conducted against the Believers were yielding more and more of the mysterious literature that the Believers valued so highly. They found Bible verses copied by hand in children's schoolbooks, leaflets and more and more Bibles, smuggled in from the West. It angered Sergei that even as the raids increased in frequency and violence, the number of Believers seemed to increase as well.

Sergei realized that he and his men were sinking more and more into amorality ­ losing the distinction between right and wrong. He felt he was becoming hardened and uncaring. Yet he was filled with a vague sense of uneasiness. He had been taught by the State since he was a child to be a firm believer in the goals and objectives of Communism. The only "religion" was Communism and any "praying" that one might consider would be to Comrade Lenin. But experiences during these raids on Believers were eroding his idealism, misguided as it was, and setting him on a different course, though he had no idea where it might be leading him.

The confiscated literature was piling up in the basement of police headquarters. One day Sergei and his friend, Vladimir, were ordered to burn the material, three large wooden boxes overflowing with books and papers. They started a fire in the big metal stove and began throwing the copies of handwritten literature into the flames. Watching it go up in smoke, Sergei thought to himself that the Believers were certainly wasting their time, carefully copying these worthless words.

Yet the thought nagged him, "What did people see in this trash?" He remembered Natasha, the young pastor and so many others from the raids. A deep sense of curiosity suddenly came over him. Vladimir had left for a moment, so he picked up one of the booklets and began to read. The words were handwritten in a child's notebook and appeared to be some sort of a prayer. Hearing Vladimir's footsteps on the stairs, he quickly ripped out several of the pages from the notebook and shoved them into his pocket.

Later that night, lying on his bunk at the navel academy, Sergei retrieved the stolen pages. Sergei's own words best describe what happened next, as taken from his book, The Persecutor, (no longer in print):

"I opened up those pieces of paper and began to read. Jesus was talking and teaching someone how to pray. I became more curious and read on. This certainly was no anti-state material. It was how to be a better person and how to forgive those who do you wrong. Suddenly the words leaped out of those pages and into my heart. I read on, engrossed in the kind words of Jesus. This was exactly the opposite of what I had expected. My lack of understanding, which had been like blinders on my eyes, left me right then, and the words bit deeply into my being. It was as though somebody was in the room with me, teaching me those words and what they said. They made a profound impact on me. I read them again and again, then sat thinking, my mind lost in the wonder of it all. So this is what Natasha believed.

"The words grabbed my heart. I was somehow frightened and uneasy, like a man walking on unfamiliar ground. I read the words and reread them and put them down, and still they came back to my mind again and again. Those words were leading Natasha to be a better person and help others. They haunted me. It was a feeling totally new to me.

"Through the days and weeks ahead, those words of Jesus stayed with me. I couldn't shake them, hard as I tried. I wished I hadn't read them. . . I could only comprehend so far, and then my understanding broke down into confusion. It was like standing on a shore, in the midst of a swirling cloud, and reaching out. You know there's something beyond, something somewhere to be touched, to be reached, to be known, But it escapes you. All you see is the swirling cloud."

"The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 NIV

God's powerful Word had penetrated Sergei's heart and he knew he could not continue his way of life. His beliefs in Communism were being shattered and he was alarmed at the void he felt.
Next month, learn how one raid, that would be Sergei's last, set him on a course that would change his life forever.

(Taken from his autobiography, The Persecutor, which is no longer in print.)

Sergei, part 6

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