Read: Matthew 18
Today, Jesus talks about offenses and forgiveness. The only way to not let offenses and unforgiveness set in is to be like a child in your faith. Children can have a fight with their best friend and the next day forget all about what happened the day before. Children don’t have a closet of baggage but their hearts are pure and open.
Peter asked Jesus if seven times was enough to forgive someone. I’m sure he thought that was a good spiritual number that showed how religious he was. He was surprised with the answer Jesus gave. Jesus said, not seven but seventy times seven. I don’t think Jesus was saying once you have forgiven a person 70 times you can stop. He was telling him how to forgive. Seven means “complete” and ten is the number of a test. So he was saying to forgive completely and thoroughly because this is your test. Then Jesus told them the parable of the king and the servant who owed him a great amount of money. When the servant asked him to forgive his debt, the king did. That same man went out and met a man that owed him a small amount of money. He was cruel and demanded his payment. When this man begged forgiveness, he threw him in prison. The king heard about what the man had done and threw him into prison. The king represents God who forgives the debt of those that ask him to. We are totally forgiven our debt of sin. If we don’t forgive everyone then we are like the man who wouldn’t forgive the man the small amount owed him. We don’t get to choose who we forgive - we are to forgive everyone.
Lord, help us to let go of the offenses we hold against people. It is the little foxes that spoil the vine.
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