In 1569 a Dutch Christian named Dirk Willems fled for his life. His pursuers were hot on his trail, not because he had committed a gross crime, but because he refused to follow the teachings of the state church.
Dirk almost escaped his captors as he fled across a frozen river. Once over the river, he turned to see one of his pursuers fall through the treacherously thin ice. Quickly he dashed across the ice, rescued his drowning enemy, and helped him back to shore.
The grateful man wanted to let Dirk go free, but the other captors refused to agree. They immediately imprisoned him and later burned him to death. Dirk refused to resist evil but, as Christ commanded, he returned good for evil.