[Transcript of Martin’s Midweek Message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube[1], 25/Jun/2025]
It’s easy to feel hurt angry or bitter when someone wrongs us. Mercy can feel like a weakness like letting someone get away with it but Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.”[2]
Mercy isn’t about ignoring wrong; it’s about choosing compassion over revenge just as God has done for us. One remarkable example of this comes from Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who along with her family helped Jews escaped the Nazis. She was eventually arrested and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp where her sister died.
Years later while speaking at a church in Germany she saw a man approach her; it was the very guard that had once mocked and abused them. He didn’t recognize her but he had since become a Christian and asked “Will you forgive me?”
Corrie was frozen; she felt the pain rush back but in that moment she silently prayed, reached out her hand and said “I forgive you brother with all my heart.” She later described a current of love flooding her whole being something only God could have done.
Mercy like that changes everything. It sets others free and it sets us free too. Is there someone you need to forgive today? Let go of the hurt, show mercy – it might just change everything for them and for you.
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[1] YouTube link: Promises for the Faithful #4
[2] Matthew 5:7
Previous message: Promises for the Faithful #3, 18/Jun/2025
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