There are many things I could talk to you about today, but I must admit, I am in a bit of a solumn mood -- sober, meditative and thoughtful. I just finished watching the movie, "The Hiding Place." It's the story of a Dutch, Christian woman named Corrie Ten Boom. Corrie, her sister Betsie and her father, were all arrested for hiding jews in their home, from the Nazis, during World War II. It is an amazing story. I don't even know where to start. I'll just say..."Watch it!" You can find it on YouTube.
Corrie and her sister spent quite some time in a concentration camp. Her sister ultimately died there. Their witness for God in that place was outstanding. Many prisoners came to know Christ as their savior. When Corrrie was asked by the prisoners about God and the atrocities they they were facing in that hellish place, Corrie responded,
"There is no pit so deep
that God's love is not deeper still."
Afterwards, I watched interviews of Corrie Ten Boom in her later life. In one, she was asked about the evil she saw in the concentration camp. She responded...
"The devil is strong,
but his power is limited.
God's power is limitless."
Later, she continued... "When we partner with a God that's
all-powerful, we become more powerful than the devil, too."
Romans 5:5 is a scripture that Corrie talks about quite often. It's a scripture that has always been a favorite of mine. In the last few days, I have found myself pondering it over and over in my mind. It says...
"God's love has been
shed abroad (poured out)
in our hearts
through the Holy Spirit,
who has been given to us."
Sister Ten Boom references this verse of scripture when she talks about forgiving those who abused her and her sister in the concentration camp. Years after she was released, she toured the world, telling her story. God's forgiveness was often the topic of her conversation.
One day she came face to face with the German prison guard that beat her sister. He had since asked Christ for forgiveness and had come to know Jesus as his personal savior. He requested of the Lord, the opportunity to meet with one of the prisoners from the camp, to ask their forgiveness for his evil deeds, during that time. God brought him to Corrie. At first, she says, she felt hatred for him, but then she remembered Romans 5:5. She asked the Lord's forgiveness for her hatred and was determined to stand on His Word! She reached out her hand to the former guard, and forgave him. As they shook hands, she says she felt the love of God rush from her heart, down her arm, out her hand and into his. Woosh!
Hearing a story like this just changes everything for me. For one thing, I have nothing to ever complain about in comparison. It just makes me want to shut my mouth! That's a good thing. And second, it makes me want to live even more fully for Christ. God forbid that things have to get so difficult before I will die to self and live for Him completely!
In her later life, Corrie said that she loved to go into the prisons and speak about God's love to the in-mates. She felt like she could relate to them, because she, herself, had been a prisoner. She lead many to Christ. She said that she never looked at them as criminals... ones that had done wrong. Instead she just saw them as people God loved and sent His son to die for. WOW!
I'm totally inspired!
Gail
