Lenten Devotional...February 22

Micah 7:18-20

Corrie Ten Boom miraculously survived the horrors of Ravensbruck concentration camp in World War II. Her father, sister, and other family members were not so fortunate. The Ten Boom family was condemned by the Nazis for harboring Jews in their home…something they believed their faith compelled them to do.

Some years after Corrie’s deliverance from Ravensbruck, she was speaking about forgiveness when she encountered one of the guards who had treated her and others so cruelly. Having heard her speak of God casting sin into the deep ocean of his love and placing a sign there that read, “No Fishing Allowed,” the guard stepped forward, offered Corrie his hand and asked if she would forgive him. Admittedly, the most difficult thing she had ever done, she slowly reached out, took the man’s hand, and forgave him.

Of God’s forgiveness, Micah writes, “You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Such forgiveness is never merited, but by God’s grace, freely offered.

Prayer: Loving God, whose grace overcomes our sin and remembers it no more, we humbly give you thanks. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, amen.

Jim Abernathy