Matthew 6:14-15
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:14%20-15&version=NIV1984)
There it is in those red letters, we must forgive others if we ourselves want to be forgiven. Sometimes it is easy to forgive others and then there are the times when our life has been torn upside down because of one person and it is so hard to forgive them. But, Jesus says that is what we need to do. Chances are that person will go on living their life and won’t remember you or the hurt that they bestowed upon you while you are rotting away in misery because you haven’t forgiven.
The parable of the unmerciful servant helps us understand how this all works. Let’s take a look at it now.
Matthew 18:21-35
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[a]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[b] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2018:%2021-35&version=NIV1984)
Who is your brother? In this story it was a master and a servant. Jesus makes it very clear that we are to love our neighbor and when an expert in the law asked Him, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with the parable of the good Samaritan who took the risk of helping someone who was considered his enemy. I would equate “brother” with “neighbor” for if we are to love our neighbor we would be called to forgive them as well.
In the Lord’s prayer Jesus does not specify who we are to forgive but rather says, “Forgive our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors”. It reminds me of the golden rule: “Do to others you as you would want them to do to you.” Forgive others as you want your Heavenly Father to forgive you. It is a lofty task but when we commit those people to the Lord and pray for them, it is much better for us.
The next part is that we need to forgive ourselves if we want our Father to forgive us. For those of you who have not read my testimony at the beginning of this blog I will give a little recap of a time in my life that was very painful. When I was six years old, I took a bike ride with my older sister who was eight. To save time she thought we should just get on one bike so I got on the back of her bike. We went to buy firecrackers and on the way home a car hit us. The driver of the other car was a teenage boy who could not see us come out of an alley because the sun was in his eyes. My sister died at the scene and I survived with only soreness. The teenage boy had to spend time in the hospital. My dad went to this young man and told him that it was not his fault, that it was an accident. My dad showed forgiveness to this young man but he never forgave himself. He continued driving wild and crazy, he drank, he had nightmares, he got divorced, and to this day, I don’t know if he ever forgave himself for killing a precious eight year old. But it is my prayer that someday this man will see the forgiveness of a Heavenly Father who gave His one and only Son to die on the cross for all of our sins. He just needs to accept that gift and that forgiveness that comes only through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He could be free of the pain that was caused that dreadful day. My dad did forgive just as our Father in Heaven will forgive you.
The secret of a satisfied life: Show forgiveness, accept forgiveness, forgive yourself, and seek God with all your heart.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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