Unbroken

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  II Corinthians 4:7

    Recently our family rented the movie, Unbroken, based on the life of Louie Zamperini. This man lived an incredible life filled with difficulty, rebellion, athletic success, Olympic competition, and horrible wartime trauma.

Zamperini was beaten and tortured by a Japanese prison warden known as, “The Bird.” Louie suffered horribly at the hands of this cruel man.  After the war, Louie was haunted by his war experiences and suffered severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which terribly affected his family.

(The story has a very personal application for me because my father was a prisoner of war during WWII under the Japanese occupation of the island of Guam. He, too, suffered some terrible trauma during that painful time in his life. The movie brought up a lot of memories for me of watching my dad cope with his war memories.)

The story of Louie Zamperini goes beyond the major motion picture directed by Angelina Jolie. I wanted to share with you a video that tells the rest of Louie’s story. Louie became a horribly broken alcoholic after the war and he nearly lost everything he had due to alcohol. Then his wife invited him to attend the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles, CA. There he heard the gospel for the first time and surrendered his life to Christ. He was never the same again.

He went on to forgive his tormentors and devote his life to helping troubled teens and sharing his story wherever he was asked.

As you have time, I encourage you to watch the 15 min. video included in the link below. You will hear how God took a man who was actually broken by sin, his own and the sin of others. And in his brokenness, God reached down to him and transformed him forever.

We have this treasure in earthen vessels, we read in today’s Scripture. Louie Zamperini was an earthen vessel whom God transformed. May all praise be to the great Deliverer and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Click Here to Watch the video:   Captured By Grace.      Enjoy!