“If the Lord has forgiven you, who am I to refuse to forgive you?”

Aug 20

2 min read

Updated: Aug 21

A True Story from the Life of Corrie ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom was a Christian worker from the Netherlands.

During World War II, Corrie and her family secretly helped Jewish people. Because of this, the Nazis arrested Corrie and her sister. They were kept in a prison camp, where they suffered from hunger, sickness, beatings, and humiliation. Corrie’s sister died in that prison camp.

Later, Corrie was unexpectedly released from prison. After the war, she traveled around the world and shared the message of God’s love and forgiveness.

One day, during a New Year meeting, Corrie finished preaching. After the meeting, a man came forward.

He was one of the guards from the same prison camp where Corrie and her sister had suffered. He was one of the men who had treated them very cruelly.

The man stretched out his hand and said:

“I believe in Christ and I have been saved. God has forgiven me. Can you forgive me too?”

At that moment, Corrie’s heart was shaking. Humanly speaking, this was something she could not forgive.

But she remembered the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:15:

“If you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

She thought, “If God has forgiven you, how can I refuse to forgive you?”

So she chose to obey her faith instead of her feelings.

She stretched out her hand and held the man’s hand.

Corrie later said:

“At that moment, God’s love came into my heart like a great river. This forgiveness was not my own strength. It was the strength that Christ gives us.”