Tidbits for Thought

A STORY

Luke 23:34 “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do

not know what they are doing.”

Corrie ten Boom was the oldest daughter of a large Christian

family living in Amsterdam in the early part of WW 2.

During the German occupation of the Netherlands, the entire

ten Boom family was very active in a network of resistance

that saved Jews from the German concentration camps and

the death that was in store for them there. They saved

hundreds of Jewish families before they were betrayed, and

the entire family sent to various concentration camps. Corrie

and her sister Betsie were sent to the infamous camp of

Ravensbrück. Even though they faced the horrors of the

camp on a daily basis they experienced many situations that

seemed to be small miracles that allowed them to stay alive,

to help other inmates and to even form Bible studies that

were attended by women from varied backgrounds. Near the

end of the war, the miracle of a clerical error saw Corrie go

free although Betsie died before they could be released.

In the aftermath of the war, Corrie started writing and

speaking to groups all over the world, with the theme of

forgiveness at the heart of every book and every speech.

After one of her talks, a man approached her with a beaming

smile and a manner that suggested contentment with life. He

reached out to shake her hand while saying, “A fine

message, Fraulein. How good it is, as you say, all of our sins

are at the bottom of the sea.” Corrie recognized him

immediately. He had been a guard at Ravensbrück where he

tormented the inmates by leering at them and humiliated

them as filed past him, naked, on the way to shower. She

remembered his face, his uniform, his smirk, and his

physical and mental torture. He did not recognize her as he

related how he had become a Christian after the war. He said

that he knew that God had forgiven him but wanted to hear

forgiveness from one who had suffered at his hands. He

extended his hand again and said, “Fraulein, will you forgive

me?” Corrie stood there, paralyzed and mute, flooded by

memories of the horrors that he had inflicted on her, her

sister, and thousands of others.

She had just finished telling an audience that forgiveness

was at the heart of the Gospel and now God was asking her

to live it out in real time. She knew that she could not do it.

She knew that forgiveness was not in her. So, she silently

prayed, “Jesus, I cannot forgive this man. Please give me

your forgiveness.” She reached out her hand, took his, and

instantly all of the hatred melted, and her heart was

overcome with mercy as she said, “I forgive you brother,

with all of my heart.”

FORGIVENESS IS AT THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL!!!

We are not strong enough or have enough will power to

forgive the unforgiveable, but God does for us that which we

cannot do ourselves. He forgives through us! He extends the

hand of mercy through us! He loves through us! He reaches

into the deepest, darkest pit of human hatred and says,

“Even here and even now in this abomination and blackness,

amidst the torture and murder, My love is deeper still.”

Think about it!      ~ Aron Smith