And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,
Colossians 1:21-23
Because of its alliance with Japan, Germany declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941, just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. For more than three years, American forces fought German troops across North Africa and Europe. But in the final days of the war, an unusual battle took place.
At Castle Itter in Austria, the Germans were holding several French prisoners of war. After Hitler’s death in late April 1945, word spread that a Waffen-SS death squad was on its way to execute the prisoners. A small group of American soldiers moved in to help defend the castle, but they were badly outnumbered. In a remarkable turn of events, soldiers from the German regular army—no longer loyal to the Nazi cause—defected and fought alongside the Americans and the French prisoners. Together, they successfully defended the castle. Just three days later, the war in Europe ended.
Scripture tells us that we, too, were once enemies—not by accident, but by choice. Colossians says we were “alienated and enemies in [our] mind by wicked works.” Yet God, in mercy and grace, does what we could never do. Through the death of Christ, He reconciles us—changing our standing, our direction, and our future. We are no longer enemies, but are presented holy and unblameable in His sight. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10). Salvation is nothing less than a decisive change of sides.
