ESCAPE! A Visit to "Checkpoint Charlie"

“… His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:3-4

At the end of World War II, Communist Soviet forces occupied the area that was designated in 1949 as “East Germany.” From that time until 1961, at least 2.7 million people fled that land, more than half of them through West Berlin. As a result, the Berlin Wall was built, made of concrete and standing twelve feet high. That icon of division and oppression was demolished in 1989. Today rows of bricks at street level mark the former location of the wall that is there no more.

While it was still standing, college students and others dug a large network of tunnels. The first known successful tunnel began in a cemetery. People would bring flowers to a grave and pretend to mourn. Then they would drop out of sight and go underground to freedom. This tunnel was found (and sealed) after a woman accidentally left her baby in a carriage above ground. From a basement tunnel at 60 Westerstrasse, 29 people escaped.

“Checkpoint Charlie” was the most famous crossing point, where authorities examined people, documents, and vehicles. A museum that stands there today displays items and describes ingenious attempts used to reach the West. One family built a hot-air balloon and sailed over the wall. Afterward the East Germans stopped selling fabric suited to such purposes!

People redesigned cars, removing and rearranging parts, so that they could hide others inside them. One escapee was placed across the insides of two suitcases, with openings cut in the bags’ connecting sides. Sturdy rubber balls inside the springs of cars would keep them from sagging noticeably under the extra weight of human bodies.

One young man hollowed out two very thick surfboards, put his girlfriend inside them, and loaded them on top of his car. Some jumped from buildings; others climbed over barbed wire. As a sign in the museum says, “ESCAPE IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION.”

Like the Berlin Wall, the miserable bondage of sin looms large and imposing. We desperately yearn for the abundant life available on the other side, but we cannot reach it by our own clever efforts. There is a Day of Judgment coming that, like Checkpoint Charlie, will call us to account. In the words of Paul we cry, “Who shall deliver me (Romans 7:24)?”

Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God in effect declared, “Tear down this wall!” He has provided the means through which we can escape “the pollutions of the world” (2 Peter 2:20). With every temptation He provides a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Accept His grace through obedient faith, repentance, confession, and baptism. Never look back; never return to bondage. And show others the way to freedom.

ESCAPE!