After WWII ended, Corrie ten Boom continued to help people who had been affected by their experiences in the concentration camps – Jews, Resistance workers, Dutch sympathizers and even former German soldiers. Eventually one of the men who came up to speak to her after a presentation was one of her guards, one of her jailers from the Ravensbruck concentration camp. The man said, “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein. To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” and then he held out his hand to her. Corrie stood there looking at his outstretched hand.
Most of us are big fans of forgiveness when it comes to our own sins. We’ll gladly agree that Christians should forgive. That’s easy to do when we’re talking about a generic, nameless, faceless “sinner”. But what about when the person who offended you – who sinned against you – is standing right before you? Is forgiveness for them? Do you really want them to be forgiven?
Look at the prophet Jonah. God told him to warn the people of Ninevah to repent so God wouldn’t have to punish them for their sins. He wanted to be merciful. And Jonah said, “Not those people. They don’t deserve it,” and got on a ship headed in the opposite direction. You probably know how that ended up. It took a big storm and a bigger fish for Jonah to swallow his pride and bring the message of God’s mercy to Ninevah. Not because the message was too hard for him to deliver, but because he didn’t want his enemies to be forgiven.
When a bank forgives a loan, the money doesn’t have to be repaid. That’s great! But it’s meaningless if we get a letter that says, “Congratulations! Your debt has been forgiven!” if we have no debt with that company in the first place. It’s fantastic news when the letter is from our mortgage company. In the same way, it’s no big deal to be “forgiven” by someone to whom we have no debt. But it’s the best possible news when we’re forgiven by someone whom we have sinned against.
Jesus taught us to ask God to forgive our trespasses, our sins, in the same way we forgive those who have sinned against us (Matthew 6:12). He warned that we’ll be judged by the same measure we use to judge others (Matthew 7:2). He urged us to receive forgiveness from God and turn around and offer that same forgiveness to those who are indebted to us – “Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you!” (Matthew 18:21-35). The kind of forgiveness we give determines the kind of forgiveness we receive.
Jesus is also the one who said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you!” (Matthew 5:44) That sounds good on Sunday morning. But what about when your smiling enemy is standing in front of you with an outstretched hand, seeking your forgiveness? Suddenly this becomes a hard teaching. Can you accept it? Because if you offer them forgiveness, it means you also welcome them into fellowship, communion, and the peace of Christ.
When they were your enemy, they were also God’s enemy. But if they have sought forgiveness at the Cross, then they have peace with God. Jesus Himself has paid their debt to the Father. Now He stands beside them asking for a peace treaty with you, asking if you will also accept payment from Him on their behalf. Jesus offers His whole self, His very life, as payment for what they owe you. Will you accept it? Will you demand something more?
How can we ask for something more than the body and blood of our Savior? What payment could our enemy make that would be of any value in comparison? What satisfaction could it give to someone who is content with Christ?
Our problem is this: If the forgiveness of God is for me, then it’s also for them. And if it isn’t for them, then it isn’t for me either. Without mercy, we’re all sunk. So if I hold on to my desire for my enemies to be punished, I’ve forgotten that I myself deserve punishment. When I remember that I have been the undeserving recipient of God’s great mercy, I love mercy.
I myself was an enemy of God. But now He has forgiven me, forgiven my sins, canceled the debt that I owed Him, because of His love for me. He took the initiative to make me right with Him. He made it so my sins don’t count against me. He doesn’t hold Himself back from the intimate relationship He desires with me, the unity of my spirit with His.
I need this for myself. I must do this for others who have offended me. What my enemy owes me is a paltry amount. But what if my forgiveness opens the door for the forgiveness of their monstrous debt against God? Christians forgive not just so that we will be free, but with the hope that our enemy will also be free.
Justice is certain. Judgment is coming. The enemies of God will be punished. When I see what the justice of God requires – beautiful, innocent Jesus crushed – I desire mercy. Because His fate is mine but for God’s unexpected mercy. It’s only because of mercy that any of us are saved.
When the prison camp guard stood before Corrie ten Boom, all the offenses against her came rushing back and her first thought was, “I can’t forgive him!” And then she prayed, “Jesus, give your forgiveness.” This was only possible because Corrie knew she had been undeserving of forgiveness – how could she withhold forgiveness from this fellow sinner? When she stretched out her hand to take his, she proved that the Good News is really good, it’s really true, our debts really are canceled and we’re really free.