Forgive? Who Me?
by Marianna Meachen, Director of Pastoral Care
Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
In 1944 Corrie ten Boom and her family were arrested for hiding Jews in their home in Haarlem, Netherlands during the Holocaust. They were all imprisoned. Corrie and her sister Betsie were sent to Ravensbrück, a women’s concentration camp in Germany, and it was there that Betsie died on December 31, 1944.
Betsie’s last words to Corrie were: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still,” and “God will give us the love to be able to forgive our enemies.” Corrie was released from the camp in error by a bookkeeping mistake.
Betsie’s words stayed with her and were put to the test three years later when, after she had spoken at a church in Munich, a man who looked familiar approached her. It took a few moments, but she then realized that he had been a guard at Ravensbrück, where she and her sister were sent.
Interestingly, he did not recognize Corrie. He told her he had been a guard at the concentration camp, but had since become a Christian. The man then said to her, “I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well.” He then reached out his hand and said, “Will you forgive me?”
How could she forgive this man who was not just harsh to prisoners, like she and her sister, but by his own admission, cruel? Corrie wrestled with how to respond. How difficult it must have been knowing the thousands who were starved, beaten, and murdered in cold blood. And now this man, who represented all the evil she had seen, wanted her forgiveness.
Corrie said she prayed silently, but then felt God’s strength. She reached out her hand and in that moment she felt a current run down her arm into her hand and the hand of the man standing there holding hers. It was then she knew the breadth of God’s love intensely and was able to forgive.
Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? Ask God to help you. As you forgive others, you will receive the forgiveness He has for you.
Prayer: Father, in this season of Lent, I am reminded that it is only by Your grace that I am able to forgive. I know I must forgive over and over, even as You forgive me again and again. Thank You that Your love pervades our transgressions, and when I understand the depth and breadth of Your love, I can share that love with others. Thank You for Jesus and His example of forgiveness on the cross. The ultimate forgiveness. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen
