“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). This biblical instruction has resulted in many amazing stories of people forgiving.
Do you recognize the name of Corrie Ten Boom? During World War II her Dutch family hid Jews in their house to save them from the Nazis. This true story is told in the book “The Hiding Place.” Hiding Jews was against the law, and the Ten Booms were taking a great risk. They did this because they were Christians and they loved their neighbors—even Jewish neighbors— as themselves. But eventually they were caught and sent to the Ravensbruk Concentration Camp. They were treated harshly and except for Corrie the whole Ten Boom family died there. When the American army freed the camp, Corrie was released. She began traveling to churches across Europe telling her story and talking about forgiveness. After one such church service in Munich, a German man came to talk to her. He said that he was glad that Jesus forgives all of our sins, and he held out his hand to shake hers. Corrie recognized him as one of the guards at Ravensbruk, a man who had mistreated and dehumanized the prisoners. At first Corrie could not forgive him, but now he was standing in front of her waiting to shake her hand. She silently prayed, “Jesus, I can’t forgive this man. Forgive me.” Then a miracle happened, Jesus forgave her for her lack of forgiveness, and that enabled her to forgive the man for the crimes of his past. She took his hand, freeing them both.
Another true story is of a woman named Mary (not her real name). As a child she was physically abused by her mother. When she left home as a young adult she was filled with hatred and vowed never to see her mother again. But years later her mother had a series of strokes leaving her unable to communicate or care for herself. Because there was no one else to do it, Mary began going to see her mother daily. As she read to her, slowly her feelings of hatred were replaced by love and forgiveness. (Such forgiveness often happens slowly.)
You probably know of other stories of amazing forgiveness. You may remember the Amish community in Lancaster, PA who forgave the man who shot and killed ten young schoolgirls (2006). Perhaps you remember when Pope John Paul II forgave the man who tried to assassinate him in St. Peter’s Square (1981). And we all remember the recent incident when Charlie Kirk’s widow forgave the man who shot her husband while he was speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University. And we could tell many other wonderful stories of forgiveness.
In the Bible verse above we are told to forgive “whatever grievances” we may have against each other. In our sinful world, grievances, big and small, happen frequently as we bump into each other. Most of those may seem minor, but they still need forgiveness.
The great preacher Billy Graham once said that the secret of a good marriage is two good forgivers. My wife and I have a good marriage but we sometimes quarrel (as all married couples do) and we need to forgive each other. I confess that I am sometimes guilty of speaking unkindly or sarcastically to Jean. My words hurt her feelings and I have to apologize for them. Thankfully, she is a forgiving person--therefore we have a good marriage.
Some of the best forgiveness stories are found in the Bible. Remember the famous story of Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers. When he was a youth, his father Jacob liked him the best of his twelve sons. This made his older brothers jealous and they decided to sell him into slavery. In Egypt Joseph went from being a slave to being the chief slave, to being a prisoner, to becoming the prime minister of the whole land of Egypt. Years later when a severe famine struck the entire region, his brothers came to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not realize that the Egyptian official to whom they were speaking was their brother. Joseph tested them to see if they had learned to love each other. After they passed his test, Joseph revealed himself to them and had them bring their father Jacob to Egypt where they would all be cared for.
When their father died, the brothers were fearful that Joseph would take revenge for the wrong they had done to him when he was young. But Joesph reassured them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…[for] the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:1922). Joseph knew that he was not in the place of God to punish their sin. Instead, he spoke kindly and blessed them. He repaid their evil with good. The best forgiveness story of all happened when Jesus was executed on a cross by Roman soldiers. Before he died he prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus was not just forgiving the soldiers or the Jewish officials who killed him, but he was also asking his Father to forgive all of us whose sins he carried on the cross. His forgiveness is the model for how we should forgive others.
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell. Please visit his website at reflections-on-wisdom.com.