The greatest among you... the three most inspiring Christians from the Netherlands

In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time. Several other countries produced similar shows locally. This was the final result in the Netherlands:

1. Pim Fortuyn
2. Willem van Oranje
3. Willem Drees
4. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
5. Desiderius Erasmus
6. Johan Cruijff
7. Michiel de Ruyter
8. Anne Frank
9. Rembrandt van Rijn
10. Vincent van Gogh

I don’t want to rank them – but in my personal top 3 for the Netherlands I would choose Rembrandt van Rijn, Desiderius Erasmus and Vincent van Gogh. When it comes to naming the three most inspiring Dutch Christians this would be my personal choice: Henri Nouwen, Corrie ten Boom and Brother Andrew (in no particular order).

Based on their status as humble servants of the Lord, I feel free to honor these people as heroes of the Christian faith from my little country. Their lives reflected their faith in Jesus Christ and in his teachings:

"The greatest among you will be your servant" Matthew 23:11

Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983)
During the Second World War, the Ten Boom home in Haarlem became a refuge, a hiding place, for fugitives and those hunted by the Nazis. By protecting these people, Casper and his daughters, Corrie and Betsie, risked their lives. This non-violent resistance against the Nazi-oppressors was the Ten Booms' way of living out their Christian faith. This faith led them to hide Jews, students who refused to cooperate with the Nazis, and members of the Dutch underground resistance movement. Corrie ten Boom was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944 and spent 10 months in prisons and concentration camps. Four Ten Booms gave their lives for this family’s commitment, but Corrie came home from the death camp. She realized her life was a gift from God, and she needed to share what she and Betsy had learned in Ravensbruck: "There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still" and "God will give us the love to be able to forgive our enemies." At age 53, Corrie began a world-wide ministry which took her into more than 60 countries in the next 33 years! She testified to God’s love and encouraged all she met with the message that "Jesus is Victor." Corrie ten Boom became an evangelist after the war; she is best known for her book The Hiding Place.

It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability, that counts. read more

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)
Dutch priest, university professor and famous Christian author. Enjoyed an impressive academic career with positions at the Notre Dame University and Yale University. As he approached his 50th year, Nouwen turned his life toward the pursuit of what he called "the descending way of Christ". He worked as a missionary and served in the l'Arche communities, a world wide organization of communities providing care to mentally retarded adults. As an author Nouwen is best known for his book Return of the Prodigal Son.

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. read more

Brother Andrew (1928-)
Brother Andrew's real name is Anne van der Bijl. He made history during the early days of the Cold War when in 1955 he began "smuggling" Bibles into Communist Eastern Europe. On the last day of his first trip, as he sat reading his Bible, he says that the Lord spoke to him through Revelation 3:2 to "strengthen what remains and is on the point of death." His delivery of one suitcase of Christian literature to the suffering church in Poland was the humble beginning of Open Doors with Brother Andrew, now an international ministry that brings literature and much-needed assistance to Christians living in difficult circumstances in 58 countries around the world. Brother Andrew is best known for his book "God's Smuggler" - although he doesn't consider himself to be a smuggler...

I'm not a smuggler, I'm a missionary. I have chosen to be obedient and not turn away from danger. So when government says, 'No!', I said, 'wait a minute', God said, 'Go!', so I didn't listen to the 'No!' read more

"Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 8:14)

So tell me: what do you think are the most inspiring Christians from YOUR country?