Spies

As a child of the cold war - with a mother who left the 'workers paradise' of the 'German Democratic Republic' - I have had my taste for all things spy.

Not for me the pure pulp of Ludlum or Fleming - I was more drawn to the greys that you find in John LeCarre and of course the master himself - his one-time-spyness Graham Greene. Layer over this what I read in Intrepid - the book about William Stephenson and the Allied intelligence network. It took my breath away to read about how the Allied intelligence took on the Nazi espionage apparatus. More so because the book recounted both the technical brilliance of breaking the enigma code - as well as told heart-breaking stories of allied spies being parachuted into Vichy France - often with an almost sure death sentence awaiting them.

Growing up in Bombay we were members of a posh swimming pool where many diplomats and their families came. We knew roughly who was who - based on the vehicles that they came in. The Eastern Europeans stayed mostly to themselves. I must admit I was especially interested in East Germans who had their own school - and always moved around in groups. Many (most) of these Eastern Europeans (the parents at least) will have had some links with the intelligence agencies of their countries. A person growing up in East Germany for instance - was almost always on some level of surveillance by the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit - East Germany's internal intelligence agency best known by its German nickname the Stasi.

With the fall of the Berlin wall - and the general unravelling of the Leninism around the world - one would think that the old cold war hacks would be out of business.

Did my ears ever prick up when news filtered out that 10 'sleepers' had been found in the US - living lives as ordinary Americans - replete with names like 'Vicky Palaez' and 'Richard Murphy' - and one of them even attending the JFK School of Governance at Harvard. The joy of it all - real life spies! High tech gadgets! Code names and keys! Steganography!

But after the first blush of news, the further details seem distinctly underwhelming - an unravelling of the sheer mundanity of their lives. Most of what they did was just totally drab. Getting a job. Moving ahead while keeping their cover. Raising a family. Keeping up with old course-mates. Trying to meet 'important people.' The amount of information that the 'spies' were able to pass on to their handlers seems to have been so meagre that the US authorities are not even able to accuse them of being spies despite tracking them for years now. They are apparently being charged for 'not registering as agents of a foreign government.'

And it gets even more absurd (if the reports are true of course). The dears apparently caused their handlers not a little irritation. One couple was fixed on buying a house. So as to blend in better of course. Their handlers were not amused. It seems they were wondering if their spies were putting down their roots for good.

Now lets step back just a little bit from what seems to be more of a farce than the stuff of a thriller - or even a good tragedy.

How does my life stack up against these Russian agents?

They had a purpose for which they were sent. They seem to have muddled through it. They are now 'caught' and the evidence of what they have done is being weighed in against them.

Given the very sad condition of so much of the world around me - and taking a long hard look at my life - where would I stand if the content of my life were put to public scrutiny? What real changes have I been able to see take place in me - and in people around me? What is the legacy that I leave my children - and the different people that I have met across the 41 and running years that God has graciously given me so far?

The Bible paints a picture of a final reckoning. A day when we all will stand before our Maker and give accounts of their lives. I have many things that I am ashamed about, many sad twisted secrets that I would never want others to hear or see. But I also have the confidence that my Redeemer lives. Coming to Him with my brokenness and the massive short-fall in my life of that which is good - I know that He embraced me and took away the sting of all that was wrong in me - because He took the punishment on Himself on that hideous cross almost 2 millennia ago. And what is more - He rose to give life - real life - forever.

I am also grateful that a decade ago the Lord brought Sheba into my life - to help and spur me on to things that are good and right. We still have many jagged edges - and there are still things that are not what they should be. Looking back on the past decade with Sheba, however, I am so grateful for the real changes that I do see - as well as for a growing hunger in me to be more like my Lord Jesus Christ. As for the fruitfulness of my life? Despite being more of the bumbler than the victor - I can say with confidence that God has done far more than I could have imagined a decade or two ago.

This is what I read this morning:

Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you. Hosea 10.12

Its my prayer for today. For myself. And for you gentle reader. Amen.