The Love of Christ — Corrie Ten Boom

The Love of Christ and the Reality of His Love

I'm so glad that I can tell you a little bit of the reality of the love of Jesus Christ. The greatest of them is love. Faith, hope and love. The greatest is love. And I'm so glad that I can tell you about it.

Because I know that many of you know the Lord Jesus not such a long time. Some of you just came in, were born again. So you are bathed in Christ. And of course, there can come in your heart moments that you think, now, should it really be so good as the other people tell me?

And then I can tell you that I was five years old when I asked Jesus to come into my heart. And He came. He didn't say, you are too little. He just came. And He never left me. And that is seventy-five years ago.

Seventy-five years I have walked with the Lord Jesus. Jesus walked with me. And I had a very happy life. But it was not always easy. And I will tell you something what I have learned in the most difficult time of my life.

For in a difficult class of a school you learn so much. And exactly there I have learned so much. You know, I have always been a watchmaker. I was the first licensed woman watchmaker in Holland. I repaired watches the whole day.

I had a jewelry store together with my dad. And I could sell good watches. When you came to me, I could tell you, now, when you buy this watch, it is so good that even if it makes a difference of two minutes in a month, you come back and I can change it.

But then I thought later, I hope I have not boasted too much about my watch. What must I do when it makes a difference of five minutes in a week? You know, I do not sell watches anymore, but I sell the Gospel.

And I am so glad that when I tell very much about the great joy and love of the Lord, then I can never boast too much. For the reality is far and far greater than I can tell you and you can tell me. And I hope that when we come in Heaven and we look back at this time, we will not be ashamed that we have so lived as beggars.

And we are king's children, tremendous rich. And that's why I am so glad that I can tell you a little bit what I experienced. You all have heard of that terrible time that we have had in Holland. Then when the Germans came under the leader Adolf Hitler, and he intended to kill all the Jewish people.

Rescuing Jewish Children During the Nazi Occupation

We started to save as many as we could. I had never planted, but God had planted. After some time I had a gang of 80 people, 30 teenager boys, 20 teenager girls, 20 men and 10 women. And once we heard that in a Jewish orphanage in Amsterdam, all the babies had to be killed because they were Jewish babies.

When we heard that, our boys said, we will save them and we will steal them. And they went to that orphanage and they stole all the hundred babies. You will say, how is that possible? I will tell you a secret.

You know, sometimes there came to us good Germans, who were soldiers, who were in the army. And they said, we don't like to work any longer for Adolf Hitler. We will not kill the Jewish people. Can you help us?

And I always said, sure I will help you. Just come in. And we gave them, of course, a sip of clothing and we took the uniforms. I have not to go into details, but you understand how my boys stole the hundred babies.

Hallelujah. One of my bravest boys was Pete Hatoch. And Pete said that evening, I believe we do the most important work that exists. Just saving lives from the morning till the evening. I don't long to go back to college.

This is life. I said, Pete, I am so happy when I think of the babies that we have saved. But Pete, there is a work that is more important even than saving lives, and that is saving souls and tell the people about the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then Pete smiled. And Pete said, I am a Christian boy. I go to church, I read my Bible and I pray. But telling people the Gospel, telling them about Jesus, that is good business for my pastor. I said, Pete, every Christian is called to be the light of the world.

And every Christian must be ready to tell the way of salvation to anyone who needs it. And in your time, in your life, Pete, there will come a time that you will see it the most important work for you to win souls for Jesus Christ and to show that the way of salvation by believing in Jesus and inviting Him into your heart.

Pete's Final Week and the Call to Win Souls

Half a year later, Pete came into prison. And when he came into the cell, he heard that he had only one week to live. And the day before he was shot, he wrote us a long letter. And he wrote, all the men and the boys in this cell are sentenced to death.

And I am so glad that I could tell them that when they receive Jesus as their Savior, that the Lord Jesus will make them children of God. And that when they go to be killed, that they go to the house of the Father with many mansions where Jesus is preparing a mansion for everyone who believes in Him.

And Pete wrote, I see now that the most important work for a Christian is to win souls for eternity. Say, young people, I have a message for you from Pete Hutto. Don't wait till the last week of your life like he has done.

But give your life today to the Lord. And say, Lord use me. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to me. How you will say it, I don't mind. But tell the Lord that He may take you to use you as the light of the world.

And then I can tell you He will use you. And my, when you really will be used to win souls for Jesus Christ, once when you enter the beautiful city and the saints all around you appear, many of them will tell you, it was you that invited me here.

Oh boy, that will be a joy. Then you will know that you have not lived in vain. Once there came a man to me and said, will you save my wife? She is arrested. She has saved Jewish people and now she is in a police station.

And there is one policeman who will run the risk to set her free if we pay him 600 guilders. But I have no money. I said, oh man, what does money say? Let's see, I have 200 guilders. Come back after an hour.

And in that hour I asked all my friends, say, have you money? Give it. It means to save the life of a good woman. When that man came back I gave him 600 guilders. That man was a quisling, a betrayer. His wife was not at all in prison.

But the Gestapo, the police of the enemy had said, find out if Corrie ten Boom saved Jewish people. And he thought, I can do it and make some money. And he made some money. He went home with 600 guilders.

But five minutes later the Gestapo surrounded our house and we were all arrested. Later when I was in a concentration camp there came a prisoner from my hometown. And he said, say, do you know who has betrayed you?

I said, no. And then she told that it was that man. And there came hatred in my heart. The man I had given my last penny. But I know from the Bible that hatred means murder in God's eyes. But I also know from the Bible what to do with your murder.

Forgiveness Through Christ's Cleansing

When we confess our sins, when we repent and ask forgiveness, then He is able to forgive us. And the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all the sins that we tell Him and ask forgiveness for and repent.

And I repented for my hatred. And the Lord took that sin away. That's a great joy. The Bible tells very clearly what the Lord does when you repent. He takes such a sin and He casts it into the depths of the sea, forgiven and forgotten.

That's what the Bible says. The Bible doesn't say it, but I believe He put a sign, no fishing allowed. True. And do you know, when I had repented of that sin, the Lord cleansed my heart with His blood.

And a heart cleansed by the blood of Jesus, He fills with the Holy Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is love. Love even for Emily. And instead that I hated that man, I loved him. And after the war, that man was sentenced to death because he had caused the death of many Dutch people.

When I heard that, I wrote him, Your betrayal has meant the death of my old father, who was 84 years old when they brought him into prison. After 10 days he died. My sister, who died after 10 months of terrible suffering.

My brother, he came out alive, but a sick man, and died through that sickness. And his son never came back. I myself have suffered terribly in three different prisons. But I have forgiven you. And that is because Jesus is in my heart.

And when Jesus tells you to love your enemy, He gives you the love that He demands from you. And I send that man a New Testament and underline the way of salvation. And that man wrote me, that you could forgive me is such a great miracle, that I have said, Jesus, when you give such a love in the heart of your followers, there is hope for me.

And I have read in the Bible that you sent me, that Jesus has died at the cross for the sins of the whole world. And I have brought my terrible sins to Jesus. And I know that they are forgiven. Your forgiveness has shown me what it means that there is forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

And that man was brought to death that same week. But he was reconciled with God. And God had chosen me, who had hated him, to bring him to the Lord. You know, I like that little poem of John Bunyan. Run, John, run, the law commands.

But gives us neither feet nor hands. Far better news the Gospel brings. It bids us fly and gives us wings. Isn't that good? It says, you must love your enemies, and he gives you the love that he demands from you.

The Love Described in 1 Corinthians 13

The greatest of all is love. In 1 Corinthians 13, I believe that Paul describes God's love. There are two kinds of love. Human love and God's love. Human love fails on the long run. But God's love never fails.

And I believe that this love that is described here is the love of God, not only in the heart of the Father, but shed and brought into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has given to us, Romans 5, 5.

And when Paul uses the translation of Philip, then he says, if I speak with the eloquence of men and of angels, but have no love, I become no more than blaring brass and crashing cymbals. If I have the gift of foretelling the future, and hold in my mind not only all human knowledge, but the very secrets of God, and if I also have that absolute faith, which can move mountains, but have no love, I amount to nothing at all.

If I dispose of all that I possess, yet even if I give my own body to be burned, but have no love, I achieve precisely nothing. This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience. It looks for a way of being constructive.

It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails. Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its thrust, no fading of its hope.

It can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. And in my life, all else has fallen. I stood in Rochor, in the concentration camp Ravensbruck, where 97 ,000 women were killed or died, also my sister.

When I stood there on Rochor, one of the guards used her time to demonstrate her cruelty. I could hardly bear to see or to hear what had happened in front of me. But suddenly a skylark came, and he started to sing in the sky.

And all the prisoners looked up, and when I looked up, I looked at the sky. And then I thought of Psalm 103, where it's written, As high as heaven over the earth so far is God's love and mercy over all that fear Him.

And suddenly I saw it. Oh, love of God, how deep and great, far deeper than man's deepest hate. God sent that skylark three weeks daily, exactly due roll call time, to turn away our eyes from the cruelty of man unto the ocean of God's love.

How can you and I understand God's love? At the cross, at the cross, when I first saw the light, and the burden of my sins rolled away, it was there by faith I received my sight. When we look unto Jesus, we understand, when we look at the cross, what an ocean of love He has for you and me.

Testifying to Jesus Before a Judge

I was questioned by a man in whose hands my life was. He was my judge. It was wartime. And if that man should say I had to be shot, I should have been shot. He asked me much about my spare time, about what my certificates, and I told him all.

When he asked me about my misdeeds, I did not tell him all. He has known only of eight Jews that I had saved, and I hoped that there were more than 800. But when he asked me about my spare time, I told him about that work that I had with pedominded children in my little booklet, Common Sense Not Needed.

You can read about it. And when I told that man, that was a nonsense. Hasn't it far more value to convert a normal person than an abnormal one? Then I said, if you should know Jesus, you should know that He has a great love and concern for everyone who is in need.

It is possible that a poor, feeble-minded child has more value in His loving eyes than you and I together. Then he was angry, and he called a policeman and said, bring her back to her cell. The next day I was again brought to him, and then he said, I could not sleep this night.

I had always to think of what you told about Jesus. We have time enough for the questioning. First you must tell me what you know of Jesus. Boy, that was a chance. I said, Jesus is a light. Come into this world that everyone who believes in Him does not remain in darkness.

I asked him, is there darkness in your life? That man said, darkness? There is no light at all in my life. And I brought him the old, old story of Jesus and His love. After me, Betsy, my sister, was questioned.

With great joy she testified to her faith, and she told about Jesus, and then she said, it is important to speak about Jesus. It is more important to speak to Him. Do you allow me that I pray with you?

And he said, yes. And she prayed with him. The prisoner with her judge. Five times Betsy was questioned. Five times she prayed with that man. Betsy died in prison. But after the war, I met that judge, and he said to me, I can never forget your sister's prayers.

Through her, and through my testimony, God touched the heart of that man. And he became a friend instead of an enemy. But he had to do his job. And suddenly he showed me papers found in my house. And to my horror, I saw names, addresses, and particulars that could mean my descendants.

And the descendants of my family and my friends who were in prison. You will say, how was it possible that such dangerous papers were found in your house? But I must tell you that my teenagers have done a tremendous, courageous job.

But they were not always careful. And so it happened that these terrible papers were found in my house. The judge said, can you explain these papers? I said, no, I can't. And I felt deep unhappy. But he knew how dangerous they were.

And suddenly he turned, opened the door of the stove, and he threw all the papers into the flames. Oh my, how happy I was! I should never have believed, and you should have told me that I could be happy when I was in a prison of an enemy.

But that moment when I saw the flames destroy these horrible papers, it was as if for the first time I understood Colossians 3 .20 where it's written that Jesus has taken the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, has taken them out of the way and nailed them at the cross.

The Cross, Judgment, and Forgiveness of Sins

Hey, do you realize that there are dangerous papers for you? Do you realize that in heaven all our sins are written down? And we have all to come for the judgment day of God. And if we have refused Jesus Christ in this life, the judgment day will be terrible for we will have to pray and to carry the punishment for our sins.

But when we have found Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, in this life we have nothing to fear, for we will find out that Jesus has taken all our sins and nailed them at the cross. Hallelujah! What a love!

What a Savior! Yes, I understood that better than ever before. I had a little Bible. When I was brought into that concentration camp Ravensbruck, I had a small Bible, but a whole Bible, Old and New Testament, specially printed for what they called the underground workers.

It was very small. I had it on my back. But when we entered, I saw that we all had to be searched. And I saw that they took away everything that the prisoners had hidden under their clothing. And I got scared.

I said, Oh God, these people may not see me. God, send your angels and let they surround me. But then I thought, yes, but angels are spirits and you can look through a spirit. I said, God, make your angels untransparent today.

You can pray very unorthodox when you are in great need. But God did it! God did it! The woman who stood in front of me was searched, and then that who stood behind me. And they did not see me. So I came with my Bible in the prison.

Strange story? No, that's not strange. That is what is written in the Bible. Angels are minnesotan spirits sent to this planet for your and my help. And there are far more angels than demons. Yes, there are demons.

And they can really come into your heart when you do these occult sins of what Ellen told. You go, you play with a witchy ward, you go to a spiritual meeting, you let, you go to a fortune teller, then a demon comes in your heart.

But praise the Lord! You can send them away in the name of Jesus. And don't forget there are only one-third of the angels fallen. So there are twice as many angels as there are devils. And really, far more, for many of these devils are already sent to hell.

So we can know that those who are at our side are far more and far stronger than those who are against us. And that's what I have experienced. Now when I came in that prison, we had to live with 700 prisoners in a room that was built for 200.

It was terrible dirty and very soon our clothing were full of lice. Those lice have caused many sicknesses, but in some way they have helped us. For the guards would never come into our room. They were afraid to get lice from us.

That was good. The Bible was a forbidden book, but twice a day we had a Bible message in Baruch 28. And God had used for that angels and lice. God can use everything. Hallelujah! God can use everything.

And what a joy! Many of the people around me were killed or died. But many died with Jesus' name on their lips. And that was worthwhile. Even Betsy's death and all the suffering that I had to endure. Once Betsy said to me, Corrie, when we are free, we must travel over the world.

We can tell from experience that the light of Jesus Christ is stronger than the deepest darkness. A week later she died. Another week later I was set free by blunder of men and a miracle of God. For one other week later they killed all the women of my age.

So I became a tramp for the Lord. Twenty-six years I have traveled over the world. And I could bring the Gospel to many people, also behind the Iron Curtain. Oh, it was a joy. It's always a joy when we work in Russia and the other communist countries.

Trusting God's Promises in Gospel Ministry

You know, we bring there, we smuggle as many Bibles as we can. I will never forget the first time that I came in Moscow. I had a big red suitcase and it was full of Russian Bibles and Christian literature.

And I saw how the custom officer ransacked every suitcase. And I got scared. I thought, my, when he finds what is in my suitcase, what will he do? Perhaps he will send me to prison or send me back to Holland.

Of course he will take away the Bibles. And then I started to pray. Now I like to pray with an open Bible. I like to say, Father, you have said it. Now you must do it. And God likes it. God likes it when you say that.

For God has meant all the promises of the Bible. And they are for you and me. And the bank account of the Bible is not frozen. You know, I don't know if there are people here who have never received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

Then I hope you will not leave this tent tonight before you have done it. And Christians pray for them. And when you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, when you ask, Jesus, come into my heart, then He comes.

And then Jesus does that miracle that you are born into the very family of God. And that very moment, all the promises of the Bible are yours. You have not to wait till you are a mature Christian or till you have studied much in the Bible.

No, that's very good. But these riches is yours. All the thousands of promises are yours the moment that you are born into the family of God. And I know what some think. Some people think, oh yeah, that's good for that lady there.

And for that boy there. For that girl. For these good people. And I can tell you a secret. The promises of the Bible are for sinners only. So when you know that you are a sinner, just come to Jesus. He died for you.

And you may cash all the checks. And then you may say, Lord, you said it, now you must do it. When I stood there in Moscow, I said, Lord, you have said in Jeremiah 1, God watches over His Word to perform it.

Now, Lord, these Bibles say in my suitcase that You Word. Now with my hand on Jeremiah 1, I pray that You watch over Your Word to my Bibles to smuggle them. That's not what Jeremiah said. But you know, I found out that does not matter so much if you pray with an open Bible in your prayers that first the Lord says, no, you must have a very sound and good exegesis before I will listen.

No. The Lord looks at your heart. And you know what I saw? The same moment that I prayed it, I saw around my big suitcase light beings. I saw for the first and only time in my life angels. And the moment that I saw them, they disappeared.

They didn't disappear, but I couldn't see them any longer. But my fear also had disappeared. I knew those who are with me are far more and stronger than those who are against me. And at last the man came to my suitcase.

He said, here is your suitcase. Yes, sir. And everyone Yes, sir. Oh, wait, lady. I have time. I can bring it to your car. And he brought his suitcase to my car. I had almost shouted hallelujah! I didn't do that.

No, I surely did not do it. But what a joy to know that all the promises of the Bible are in Jesus' yea and amen and say that tremendous privilege that you have, that you can love your enemies. That was for me one of the greatest lessons that I learned.

Loving Enemies Through the Holy Spirit

I was some time ago in a cell in Africa with a man who was sentenced to death, a political prisoner. I was so sorry. I asked him, say, do you know about Jesus? He said, yes. I have a Bible at home. I know that Jesus died at the cross for the sins of the whole world, also for my sins.

I was so happy that he knew it. But then I asked him, say, do you know who has caused your imprisonment and your death sentence? He said, yes. I can tell you all the names of those who have betrayed me and caused my death sentence, and I hate them.

I opened my Bible and I read what Jesus says in Matthew 6. When you do not forgive those who have sinned against you, your heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins. Jesus who said it must be true.

The man said, I cannot, I'm not able, I'm young and strong, I have wife and children, and now I must die. I said, I understand that you cannot forgive. And then I told what Jesus had done in my heart.

How I could bring that man who had really by his betrayal murdered four of my beloved to the Lord. I told him a little experience some time ago, and I was in Berlin, and there came a man to me. And that man said to me, do you know me?

Suddenly I saw that man that was one of the most cruel gods in Ravensbrück. And that man said, I have found the Lord Jesus as my Savior. I have brought all my cruel sins to the Lord, and I know from the Bible that I have forgiveness.

But then I have prayed, Oh God, give me the privilege that I ask one of my very victims forgiveness. And now I saw that you were speaking here in Berlin, and now I ask you, Fräulein ten Boom, will you forgive me my cruelty?

And I must confess you, that moment there came a bitterness in my heart. And I thought who my dying sister had suffered under that man. But then suddenly I said, Lord, I thank you for Romans 5. Thank you Jesus that you have brought into my heart God's love through the Holy Spirit who has given to me.

And thank you, Father, that your love is stronger than my bitterness and hatred. And that moment my heart was full of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit, love. And I could say to that man, Brother, give me your hand.

And I shook hands with him, and I said, I forgive you everything. And it was as if I felt God's love stream through my arm when I shook hands with that man. When I told this to that prisoner in Africa, he sent his wife a message.

That message was don't hate. Love the people who have brought me here. You are not able. I am not able either. But Jesus is in us is able. And I knew why I had to be in Africa. Say, can you forgive your enemies?

I cannot, but Jesus in me can. Some time ago I had a difficulty that some friends, some Christian friends of mine, did something very mean. And I had difficulty to forgive them. And I said, Lord, you have given me that grace that I could forgive the murderers of my family.

Now, Lord, it is not difficult for you to give me forgiveness and love for my Christian friends. It took some time, but I forgave them. I was glad that I had forgiven him, but do you know what happened?

One night, two o 'clock in the morning, so really in the midst of the night it was, I thought no. Then I think what my friends have done for me. I said, oh Lord, dear, it is again. I thought I had forgiven, but I am angry again.

Lord, take it away. Help me to forgive. And the Lord did. And I slept well and the whole day I was happy. But believe it or not, the next night at two o 'clock I awake and I woke and I thought, then I think what I have done for my friends.

I did this and this and this and now they did. I said, Lord, there it is again. Oh Lord, take it away, this resentment. And help me really to forgive and to forget. And the Lord did. I had a good night's rest and a good day.

But the third night at two o 'clock the same happened. And then I was disgusted. That day I met an old minister from Germany. And you know, in Germany when you ring the bell for the church on Sunday morning, you do that with your hands.

Ding, Dong, Ding, Dong. But there comes a moment that you stop. But after you have stopped, there comes another Ding and Dong, Ding, Dong. He said, but these Ding Dongs do not belong to the rest and you don't worry about it.

That stops very soon. And now your unforgiveness that were Ding Dongs who did not belong to the rest. And he said, you just bring it to the Lord and say, Lord, this Ding Dong doesn't belong to the rest.

And I was pleased. Oh, it was a joy. But you know, that book that I have written in the hiding place, I wrote together with John and Tibby Sherrill. And I had to tell really my whole life many things to them.

And so they had also heard of my friends. And John Sherrill once said to me, say, Corrie, that these friends of yours who did that mean thing, what about them? I said, that is forgiven and forgotten and I will not speak about it anymore.

He said, I know that. But I should like to know what do they think of it? I said, they take it easy. They simply say they have not done it. But they can say that but I have everything black on white in the letters that they have written me.

And John said, what? Say, where are your sins? You have told that when you brought your sins, that God has cast them into the depths of the sea and that there is a sign no fishing allowed. That is what happened with your sins and the sins of your friends?

You have black on white? Oh God, give Corrie the grace to burn all the black on white of sins of others as a well-smelling sacrifice for you. I have done it. Say, have you black on white of sins of others?

Do you realize that you have no forgiveness? You can't forgive? No, I can't either, but Jesus can. And don't go to sleep tonight before you have burned all your black on white. And I know that is a little bit difficult to burn papers here in America.

But you can also make them just so small and throw them in the wastebasket that nobody can find out what your friends have done or your enemies. And you will find out that forgiveness is a tremendous joy for it is a key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred.

It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. You know, you and I have to be the light of the world. And I like to illustrate that with my flashlight. Some who have heard me some time ago have seen it already, but I don't mind it.

I like to tell that to all of us. You know, this flashlight doesn't give light. It's not broken, but I have only one battery in it. I need, of course, two batteries. Now, this is like you are in my heart.

Becoming the Light of the World Through the Holy Spirit

That first battery that is what happened when you said your first yes to Jesus. So that real decision and if there are here who have never done it, I hope you will do it tonight. And do you realize that when you say yes to Jesus, so really meant that the angels rejoice for your soul is very very precious in God's eyes.

And the moment that you receive the Lord Jesus, I told you already, all the promises of the Bible are yours. I asked a lady, say, have you ever received the Lord Jesus as your Savior? She said, I go every Sunday to the church.

I said, that's good, but a mouse born in a biscuit tin is therefore not yet a biscuit. Do you know it? To be in a church doesn't make you a child of God. She said, but my father and mother are very fine children of God.

I said, but God has no grandchildren. You have to make a decision because the Lord loves you. And He likes to hear that you say, yes Lord Jesus, I thank you that you love me and I will love you. Thank you that you died at the cross for me.

Now I'm glad He did it, that lady. But now there comes such a terrific joy in your heart when you know that your sins are forgiven. That many people say, hallelujah, I am saved. That's the end. Now you may say, hallelujah, but don't say it is the end, it is the beginning.

That moment you must cash your checks, you must take all the promises of the Bible, and you must learn to live as limitless rich king's children. And one of the great promises of the Bible is that Jesus said, I will send you the Holy Spirit.

And the Bible says, be filled with the Spirit. And that is that second battery. And that second battery, the fullness of the Holy Spirit gives you to be the light of the world. But I could not get it in my flashlight because it is full of rags.

And you know these rags are unrepentant sins. This is pride. This is jealousy, envy. This one is unclean thoughts, unclean deeds, unclean words. This is selfishness. These are occult sins. Now, I am going to ask you something.

Will you tonight pray, and will you say, search me, O God, and know my heart today that is sad in the sound. There is a beautiful prayer. You can also say, Lord, show me if there are rags in my flashlight.