Forgive your enemies

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12–14)

As I have been making our way through the fruit of the Spirit in my Sunday morning sermons, the need to love even our enemies and forgive those who have hurt us has come up repeatedly. This is how God treated us when we were His enemies (see Romans 5:6-8), and as we yield to His Spirit, we will experience not only the conviction that we must love and forgive even our enemies but also the supernatural power to do so.

One of the great stories of forgiveness is shared by a woman named Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch woman who passed away over 40 years ago and is best known for her book The Hiding Place, which was also made into a movie. Corrie Ten Boom and her family had sheltered Jews from their Nazi oppressors until they were caught and sent to the concentration camp at Ravensbruck. Her father eventually died in another camp, and at Ravensbruck she was not only humiliated and degraded, but she watched the life of her sister Betsie ebb away until she also died. Yet God’s grace was real in the midst of all the suffering, and after the war she went to Germany to preach God’s forgiveness.

Following one service, a man came forward whom she recognized immediately. One of the worst experiences in camp had been the delousing showers, where the women were ogled and taunted by leering guards. This man was one of those S.S. guards, a man who had been one of the cruelest, especially to her sister.  In Corrie Ten Boom’s own words:

“It was some time ago that I was in Berlin, and there came a man to me saying ‘Ah Miss ten boom I am glad to see you. Don’t you know me?’ Suddenly I saw that man, that was one of the cruelest overseers, guards in the concentration camp. ‘I am now a Christian, I have found the Lord Jesus, I read my Bible, and I know that there is forgiveness for all the sins of the whole world. Also for my sins. I have forgiveness for the cruelties I have done. But then I have asked God’s grace for an opportunity that I could ask one of my very victim’s forgiveness. And Fraulein ten Boom, once and you’re forgiven – will you forgive me.’ And I could not. I remembered the suffering of my dying sister through him. But when I saw that I could not forgive, suddenly I knew, I myself, have no forgiveness. Do you know that Jesus has said that? When you do not forgive those who have sinned against, you, my Heavenly father will not forgive you your sins. And I knew, I am not ready for Jesus to come quick for I have no forgiveness for my sins. And I was not able. I could not I could only hate him. And then, I took one of these beautiful texts, one of these boundless resources, Romans 5:5 – the love of God is shed abroad into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. And I said thank you Jesus that you have brought into my heart God’s love through the Holy Spirit who is given to me. And thank you Father that your love is stronger than my hatred and unforgiveness. That same moment I was free, and I could say, Brother, give me your hand, and I shook hands with him. And it was as if I felt God’s love stream through my arms. You’ve never touched so the ocean of Gods’ love as that you forgive your enemies. Can you forgive? No! I can’t either. But He can.”

And as she prayed, she felt not only forgiven but set free. The glacier of hate melted within and her hand unfroze. As she reached out her hand and spoke her forgiveness, she felt another burden of the past fall away.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Wherever you have been hurt, wherever you harbor bitterness and hate, I pray that you would surrender it to God, and that by the power of His Holy Spirit, you would be able to forgive, to leave the judgment to God, and to walk in His freedom.