When Brother Andrew died in September 2022, I mourned with the rest of the world.
I corresponded with him in 2016 while writing Mrs. Oswald Chambers.
Through my research, I knew Andrew van der Bijl carried copies of My Utmost for His Highest through the Iron Curtain.
The God Smuggler and the My Utmost for His Highest smuggler, both.
Men like Brother Andrew are important and far between.
But how did Brother Andrew learn about My Utmost for His Highest?
As he recounted in his book For the Love of My Brothers:
If there’s anything that can quickly quench the Spirit, it’s probably these four words: “You can’t do that.”
We must actively resist this attitude if we are to go where God wants us to go and do what he wants us to do. People have been saying those words to me all my life, even before I knew there was a suffering church.
For the Love of My Brothers, p. 28
In 1953, Brother Andrew attended the Worldwide Evangelism Crusade missionary training school in Glasgow, Scotland.
Photo By Jako Jellema –
He described in God Smuggler how little money he had when he went to Bible school.
In the fall of 1953, he spent much of his time in bed due to a back injury. While there, he “found solace” in Oswald Chambers’ books, My Utmost for His Highest in particular.
The devotional blessed him so much that he wrote a letter to Biddy Chambers expressing his thanks.
As was her custom, she replied with an invitation to visit someday.
How did Brother Andrew meet Biddy and Kathleen Chambers?
The Christmas holidays came up not long afterward.
With nowhere to go during the holiday and not allowed to remain at the school, Brother Andrew packed his bag and went to Muswell Hill.
Biddy was used to Oswald Chambers fans dropping by, and when she heard his story, she invited him to spend the week.
He did.
Many years later, he recalled, “It was a lovely, enjoyable week.”
When asked later by the school’s director where he went, Brother Andrew described his visit.
The horrified director exclaimed, “You can’t do that!”
To me it was nothing special. But to them it was strange. You do not just go and visit the family of a great spiritual man such as Oswald Chambers. Nor do you get up and go to a country that has declared itself closed to the message of Christ.
For the Love of My Brothers, p. 28
Kathleen’s remembrances
Kathleen Chambers took over most of Biddy’s ministry over the years.
During an interview about her father’s life, she said Brother Andrew often visited to talk with Biddy about “all sorts of things” before he began his Bible smuggling work.
You know of Brother Andrew? He’s a very great friend of ours. We’ve known him for donkey’s years.
He asked if he could take Utmost with him wherever he went. We’ve always been closely in touch with him. He’s a very fine person.
Kathleen Chambers taped interview (Wheaton College Special Collections Library)
After Biddy’s death in 1966, Kathleen continued the friendship.
In 1991, he called her and invited her to visit him at a conference at Oak Hill College.
I said, yes, of course.
He was preaching to a conference of a couple of hundred Arabs who are pastors, theological students, all over here, men and women. They practically all spoke English.
“Do you want to bring me some Utmosts?” he asked.
I took him about 150. They were delightful people. They’d all come from places that I knew the names but couldn’t remember what they were like. He’s got a wonderful ministry, that man.
Kathleen Chambers taped interview (Wheaton College Special Collections Library)
What did Brother Andrew tell Biddy’s biographer about her?
While writing Mrs. Oswald Chambers in 2016, I sent Brother Andrew an email through Open Doors International.
Wheaton Special Collections Library
One of the ministry staffers asked the questions and sent me a few answers.
Brother Andrew remembered,
Biddy was a warm hearted, generous person.
People compared Biddy with Enoch. As she walked with the secondhand books of Oswald Chambers to the post office in the evenings, people said, “look there goes Enoch, he walks with God.” This was a great testimony.
Email to Michelle Ule, May 23, 2016
About Kathleen, he recalled,
Kathleen was just as radical as her father was. When Brother Andrew attended pastor conferences in London, Kathleen brought big bags of mostly secondhand books to give away to others. They had a very warm connection.
Email to Michelle Ule, May 23, 2016
Love for My Utmost for His Highest
During Tributes for Brother Andrew posted at Open Doors International, several people spoke of his love for My Utmost for His Highest.
Over our many years of ministry together, another thing that united me with Brother Andrew was our mutual love of Scripture. He would discuss the Bible any time.
We also shared a mutual love of the writings of Oswald Chambers. We often talked about the daily reading from My Utmost for His Highest.
Sealy Yates, founding Chairman, Open Doors International
In addition, Pastor Ron Van Der Spoke of the Netherlands said:
The best way I can characterize Brother Andrew is with the title of the book he loved most after the Bible, the devotional of Oswald Chambers, called “My Utmost for His Highest.” That summarizes best why Brother Andrew was who he was and did what he did. He always told me that his epitaph should be: “He did what he couldn’t”. And yet he did it, because he longed to give his utmost for God’s Highest.
Pastor Ron Van Der Spoke
Well done, good and faithful servant. I’m sure he’s enjoying his rest with his Savior.
Tweetables
A wonderful friendship: Brother Andrew and Biddy Chambers. Click to Tweet
Brother Andrew and his love for My Utmost for His Highest. Click to Tweet
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