Forgiveness

Mathew 18: 21-35 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who

sins against me? Up to seven times?

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Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

The servants request shows our heart vs. Gods heart. Our hearts can only take so much. This servant must have rationalized that 7 times was a fair amount of times to forgive someone before you totally lose it. Our hearts are only capable of letting go of so much. How many times have we said to ourselves this person is about to get on my last nerve. God doesnt have a last nerve. God heart is like the words to the song deep and wide If you can picture the depth and width of the sea then you begin to get a small understanding of the heart of God. Gods heart has a capacity that man can never even begin to imagine. When God told him seventy seven times his statement should cause us to reevaluate our hearts. This guy wanted to draw a line in the sand but god tells him to erase the line. Most of us would have loved for God to give us a line to draw. Some of us would probably count allot when our offender has did something against for the seventh time so we can lose it. Later in Corinthians Chpt. 7 God defines his love as keeping no record of wrong. How big is your record of wrong list because God doesnt have one?

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 bags of gold 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. Just to show what Jesus is trying to say here one talent is worth about 20 years of a day laborers wage. So if one talent is 20 years of a days labor and this man owes the master 10,000 talents he could never repay the debt. Jesus required the guy to give up everything he had to repay the debt which still wouldnt be enough. When we understand that the debt we owe God requires us

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to lose everything we own we should feel grateful he doesnt foreclose on us. If you have ever went through foreclosure or getting your car reposed I am sure you know the feeling of helplessness of losing something of value. God is not like the banks or the repo man God takes pity on us. Why is it we find it hard to have pity on others whose trespass is small compared to the trespasses committed against God?
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At this the servant fell on his knees before him. Be patient with me, he begged, and I will pay back everything. The servants master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
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But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. Pay back what you owe me! he demanded.
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His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.

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 outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 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 Shouldnt you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owe
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This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

To give you a perspective on the servants debt he owed one hundred denarius. A denarius is equal to one day of labor. If you ever wanted to know what God is like read this story again. Many of us feel that God cannot forgive our sins or that we are not good enough for heaven but in this passage God shows his mercy towards us. When you pay off a debt its gone it doesnt show up anymore. When God forgives our sins its gone. Do you remember the excitement of calling the bank to find out the payoff amount for a loan you had. Getting the confirmation number for a loan payoff is a feeling of refreshment. The first time I paid off my first car loan I felt like I had been released from bondage. When we forgive people we let go of chains that keep us in bondage. The last thing God says is we need to forgive from the heart. Forgiving from the heart means you dont constantly bring it up anymore. Forgiveness is an act of love. You havent forgiven someone if you are still angry at them or upset.