Seventy times seven!

 Matthew 18: 21-35 v “Then the master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his dept.”

Peter asked Jesus a question. “Lord how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times? No, Seventy times seven. Then Jesus told a story about a King who forgave the dept of a servant who owed him millions of dollars because the King was filled with pity for the servant, and he released him and forgave his dept. The servant then went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars and grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. His fellow servant begged for more time but was put in prison. Others saw this behavior and went to the King and told him everything that happened. The King said” Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you? The king sent the man to prison to be tortured. That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.

For those who have had children or grandchildren or even a puppy to train, the need to forgive multiple times with a loving heart is all too familiar. However, there are rewards as children say please and thank you and a puppy that doesn’t jump up at you. Jesus asks us to have the same loving heart to repeatedly forgive others around us who sin against us. So, take a deep breath or even just walk away from a toxic situation and say you will think about it and get back to them when you meet again. In this scenario, no one was hurt by the lack of payment and the servants both admitted the problem and said they would work with more time to pay back the monies owed. So, think about the situation you are in today. Is everyone safe? Are those that sinned aware of the problem and are they saying they will not do it again? Then you can forgive them from the heart, many times over.

Prayer: Holy God who sees all and knows all help us to see the situations in our lives that require multiple times to forgive others with a loving heart as you forgive us. Amen.