Making it Right

Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom was born on April 15, 1892, in Haarlem, Netherlands. She was the youngest of four children in a devout Christian family. Her father, Casper ten Boom, was a watchmaker, and their home was known for its warm hospitality and deep commitment to helping others.

When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in 1940, the ten Boom family, as devoted Christians, could not stand by as their Jewish neighbors were persecuted. They became active in the Dutch underground resistance, hiding Jewish refugees in their home and helping them escape the Gestapo.

The ten Boom home, above their watch shop, had a secret room—later called "The Hiding Place"—where Jews and resistance fighters were sheltered. Corrie, her family, and fellow believers risked their lives daily to provide safety, food, and forged documents for those escaping the Holocaust.

In February 1944, after being betrayed by a Dutch informant, the Gestapo raided the ten Boom home. Corrie, her father Casper, her sister Betsie, and other family members were arrested. Even though the secret room contained six hidden Jews, the Nazis never found them.

Miraculously, Corrie survived the horrors of the Revensbrück concentration camp. Afterwords, she dedicated her life to sharing the message of Christ’s forgiveness. She traveled the world, telling people about God's love and how He had helped her endure the unimaginable suffering inflicted by the Nazis. But in 1947, while speaking at a church in Munich, Germany, she was faced with a challenge that tested the very forgiveness she preached.

As the church emptied, she saw him—a man in a gray overcoat, moving against the tide of the departing congregation. Suddenly, memories rushed back. He had been one of the cruelest guards at Ravensbrück. She saw again the long corridors of the camp, the faces of women wasting away, the humiliation, the abuse. And now, this man was standing in front of her.

“Fraulein,” he said, extending his hand. “I was a guard at Ravensbrück. But since that time, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the things I did there, but I need to hear it from you as well. Will you forgive me?”

Corrie felt her heart freeze. Here was the moment she had preached about—the moment to extend God’s grace. And yet, she couldn’t do it. The hatred, the pain, the memories—everything inside her resisted.

She stood there in silence, unable to lift her hand.

She prayed, "Jesus, help me! I can lift my hand, but You must supply the feeling."

With a deep breath, she extended her hand toward the former guard.

The moment their hands touched, an incredible warmth surged through her arm, into her heart, and tears welled in her eyes. “I forgive you, brother,” she whispered. “With all my heart.”

It was as if God had unlocked something inside her. She had preached about forgiveness, but now she truly experienced its power. She later reflected:

"I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then."

The former guard had done his part—he had repented, sought God's forgiveness, and taken the bold step of seeking amends from one of his victims. And by God's grace, Corrie was able to respond in kind, setting both of them free.

The beauty of this story is that it is not really about Corrie — as beautiful and wonderful of a human being that she has proven herself to be. It’s about what God has done because of the courage that a once awful human being mustered up to approach her and admit the harm that he had caused her. I would venture to guess that if there was any small corner of unforgiveness and resentment in her heart — that this guard lived there. And yet, he was able to begin the process of making it right with her. And through the power of God he did.

We are continuing our sermon series “Drop the Rock” today. This series explores how the 12 steps of recovery are an effective means of discipleship. We have looked at how our destructive behaviors weigh us down like a rock that needs to be dropped, but how it is so difficult for us to do so without help. Then we saw how God can and will help us if we are willing to do the work of healing ourselves so that we never have to pick that same behavior up again. Then the journey of self discovery begins by being honest with ourselves about the mess that we’ve made and confessing that mess to God, ourselves, and another human being. Once doing this, we uncover the defects of our character that cause us to try to escape our reality, or to get what we want when we want it — without regard to the harm it causes those around us. When we do this, we are able to ask God for help cleaning up these attitudes and behaviors as well.

All of that work leads us up to where the rubber really hits the road: Steps 8 and 9. Last week I asked you to look at the places in your life where you have caused harm. That exercise was the primer for these next steps:

Step 8 says: We made a list of all people we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Step 9 says: We made direct amends where ever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.

This sounds like a whole lot of not fun right? But it is critical, because everyone wants forgiveness — but forgiveness is not ours to force. Forgiveness is something that comes to us freely as a gift from another person. And forgiveness requires us to open our hearts and our mouths to express the truth of what we have done.

In the very first book of the Bible there is a story of a young man named Joseph. Now Joseph was the youngest of 12 Brothers, and he was daddy’s favorite. And his 11 older siblings did not like that at all. They were threatened by his very existence, so they formulated a plot to kill him. However, at the last moment their oldest brother talked some sense into the other 10 and convinced them to simply sell Joseph into slavery.

Joseph’s journey ended with him in Egypt, working in a wealthy home. Some bad stuff happened and he wound up in jail, but then some really good stuff happened and all of a sudden he was the prime minister of Egypt, working directly under Pharaoh to steward Egypt through 7 years of harsh famine. During those years, when only Egypt had grain, people from all over the world came to buy food. And wouldn’t you know it, one day Joseph’s brothers showed up. They didn’t even recognize him.

Joseph then plays with them. He accuses them of being spies and has them jailed for 3 days. Then he says go back home and bring me your youngest brother — for their father had another son named Benjamin.

Genesis 42:21–23 NRSV

They said to one another, “Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.” Then Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, since he spoke with them through an interpreter.

This is step 8. The brothers have recognized their guilt for selling Joseph into slavery. This is the first step towards making amends: admitting that they had caused harm.

Before true restoration happens, we must face the harm we’ve done and become willing to make things right.

So then one of the brothers, Simeon, stays in Egypt and the rest return to their father and give an account of what’s happened. And dad is like there is no way in hell you are going back to Egypt. You lot already cost me Joseph, now you’ve cost me Simeon, and you think I’m going to let you take Benjamin down there? No way.

But the famine persists. And they become desperate again. So down to Egypt they go with Benjamin in tow. And Joseph plays more games with them and accuses them of theft and threatens to detain Benjamin. That’s when Judah — the crafter of the original plot against Joseph speaks up:

Genesis 44:30–34 NRSV

Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life.’ Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy; and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father.”

Judah, who had once been part of the plot to sell Joseph, now offers himself as a slave to save his younger brother, Benjamin.

This act proves that the brothers have changed. Instead of betraying a brother for their own gain, they now sacrifice themselves to protect him.

Joseph sees that their hearts are different—they would not repeat their past mistake.

True repentance isn’t just about saying sorry—it’s about demonstrating change. The brothers prove their sincerity through action.

Genesis 45:1–5 NRSV

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

After seeing their repentance, Joseph reveals his identity and forgives them.

He assures them that while their actions were evil, God had a greater purpose.

Their relationship is restored—not because the past didn’t matter, but because repentance and grace made a new future possible.

When genuine amends are made, God can bring healing and reconciliation that once seemed impossible.

I don’t know who is on your list of persons you have harmed. Maybe it’s a short list, maybe if you’re honest it’s a little longer than you’d care to admit. Maybe the harm is small — or maybe it is earth shattering stuff like Joseph and Corrie experienced.

The point is not how bad the harm you have done is. The point is that no matter what it is — you can become willing to make amends and then — if it is safe — do so. Not for the purpose of being forgiven — but for the purpose of releasing yourself from the pain and the harm that these burdens have been holding over your head for all of these years.

Making amends is about doing our part, and then allowing the grace of God to do the rest. Maybe you receive forgiveness right away from these people. But maybe its not that fast. The point is that you know that you’ve done your part. And now you can sleep at night.

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous says these words about steps 8 and 9:

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us-sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

You see… transformation is happening in us. I often think about what a relief that old Nazi guard must have felt once his acknowledged harm met the ears of Corrie ten Boom. What a weight that must have been to carry that rock — a rock he no longer had to bear. Sometimes our rocks are the weight of our own conscience. The way of Jesus, the message of Jesus invites us to drop that rock, to recognize that the Cross of Christ can carry the burden of all of our messes. All we need to do is recognize that we are carrying them and give them over to the great physician.