Forgiveness is God's command

Salaam!

Did you know my wife, Jenny, is Dutch? I think she’s the greatest Dutch woman ever, though I might be biased…🤪 But if you ask others, many would likely mention Corrie ten Boom.

During World War II, Corrie and her family risked everything to help Jewish people escape the German Nazis. They were eventually caught and imprisoned at a concentration camp, where they endured unimaginable suffering from hunger, extreme cold, forced labour, sickness, and unsanitary conditions. Corrie witnessed her father and sister die from the harsh conditions. On top of it all, she was stripped of her dignity and regularly abused and humiliated by the prison guards.

Corrie suffered more at the hands of other people than we could possibly imagine. And yet, after the war, she travelled the world, preaching a message of forgiveness. Her ministry facilitated reconciliation between many Holocaust survivors and their former persecutors.

During one of her travels, she came face to face with one of the guards who had ill-treated her.

“Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me ... I prayed, ‘Forgive me and help me to forgive him.’ … I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so, again, I breathed a silent prayer. ‘Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.’ As I took his hand, the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand, a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.”
(From the book ‘The Hiding Place’ by Corrie ten Boom)

Forgiveness is God’s command (Ephesians 4:32), and He will give us the strength to follow it. Let’s take a look at the list from a few days ago and say Corrie’s prayer together:

"Heavenly Father, forgive me and help me to forgive _______. I cannot forgive him/her; please give me Your forgiveness. In Jesus' name, amen."

Hey! You are a Chamatkar.

Cameron Mendes