Life lessons from Corrie ten Boom - part 1Sample

God’s faithfulness through the generations

Psalm 100:5 (NIV)

“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” 

This Psalm speaks about God’s faithfulness and loving kindness through the generations. Corrie experienced this faithfulness of God. She once said: “We have to dig up the gold from the past generations to make coins to hand out to the future generations.” The gold she referred to was the gold of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son. He came down to earth to die for our sins in order that the separation between God and men was abolished. But He also rose again to live in us through His Holy Spirit.

There was a lot of gold to dig up from the generations before Corrie.

  Corrie was born in 1892 in Amsterdam and the family moved to Haarlem when Corrie was five years old. She grew up in the house her grandfather had bought in 1837 and in which her father was born. For three generations the family Ten Boom had a watchmakers shop on the Barteljorisstraat in Haarlem. Throughout the generations they trusted in God’s goodness and faithfulness. Even when life was difficult because of sickness and poverty. Believing in God sometimes caused rejection, suffering and persecution. But in spite of all this Corrie had a very warm, safe and happy upbringing. Her parents expressed and taught the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and Corrie learned how to put into practice the great command, namely, “to love the Lord your God above all and your neighbor as yourself.” She also learnt through the generations to love God’s precious Jewish people, "the apple of His eye".

Questions  

• Can you see the gold of God’s loving kindness and faithfulness in the generations before you?  
• How can you apply this in your own life?  
• Are there stumbling stones in your life that hinder you from digging up the gold of God’s love?

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for your everlasting, loving kindness and faithfulness throughout the generations. This gives us hope. Help us to remove the stumbling stones that hinder us from digging up the gold, so that we can hand it on to the next generations.