A Bell Ringing Story
Dutch watchmaker Corrie ten Boom and her family were imprisoned by the Nazis in horrible concentration camps in Germany during World War II. Their crime: hiding Jews from the Nazi invaders. Her father, sister and other family members died there. She was miraculously released by a clerical error.
Corrie, then in her 50s, had a lot of people to forgive from the Dutchman who betrayed them that led to her family’s imprisonment to the brutal prison guards.
Some years later, after her release from prison, she travelled the globe preaching. Once in Florida, I heard her give an illustration about the need to release bitterness coupled with unforgiveness. “Yes,” she said, “it is hard to forgive. But Jesus asks or rather requires it of His followers.”
She was very familiar with Jesus’ words recorded in Scripture, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:26 NKJV)
She also knew Paul wrote to the early church: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV)
In her sermon she said that she had forgiven the guards who had abused her and caused the death of those in her family. But then some close friends behaved like enemies toward her, and she was having a hard time. “So, you forgive, but the bitter memories might keep surfacing,” she admitted. Then she heard an illustration that helped her. She shared it with us that Sunday.
“When a man rings a church bell, it goes bim bam—bim bam. Then there comes the moment he stops pulling and lets go of the rope. But the bell still goes bim bam a few more times. Yet he knows it will finally stop ringing.”
“When we forgive, the memories might surface again and again, but you simply bring them again to the Lord. He is Victor. Soon He makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to help us become free of the bitterness. When other people make it hard for us, then we must pray that the Lord will use that for our sanctification,” she added. This story also appeared in Marching Orders for the End Battle, which Corrie ten Boom wrote.1
Freedom. Many long for it, but true freedom is available in Christ. The question is, are we willing to fulfill God’s primary condition: forgiving those who have offended us? What does it mean to forgive? Several dictionary definitions include these:
- To absolve from payment of (to cancel a debt)
- To excuse from a fault or an offense
- To renounce anger or resentment against
- To give up the wish to punish or get even
- To bestow a favor unconditionally
- To release, set at liberty, unchain
Reading a definition of forgiveness is one thing. Doing it on a daily basis is quite another. Our enemy, the devil, knows that when we forgive, we are released from bondage, and his goal is to keep us in captivity. Recognizing his strategy to keep us bound is the first step to our freedom.
God deals with each of His children on an individual basis in the process of forgiving. He always does it in love. But it is a key to walking free from bondage.
Prayer: Lord, I truly mean it when I pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12). Thank You for helping me work through the process of forgiving those who have wounded me. Thank You for the mercy You have shown me by forgiving my sins. Please, Lord, help me to show mercy to others. Help me choose to forgive each time a painful memory comes back, or whenever someone offends me. I rejoice in the freedom forgiveness brings in my life. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Scriptures: Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others]. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions. (Mark 11:25-26 AMP)
Footnote:
1. Corrie ten Boom, Marching Orders for the End Battle, Christian Literature Crusade, 1969, p.53. Videos of Corrie are now available on YouTube.
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