Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister …?
Summary: Being forgiven is a great gift, but one that we don’t always appreciate as we should.
Me: I want to be forgiven. Voice: Why? Me: Because not being forgiven bothers me. I am carrying a debt that I cannot repay. I want to be released from that debt. Voice: What will you do when you have been released from your debt? Will you get back into debt again, or will you stay out of debt? Me: Mmmm… Good question.
What is the point of being forgiven a debt if we don’t learn anything from being forgiven? To put it another way, what is the point of being forgiven if we don’t appreciate it?
When Peter asked Jesus how many times he was supposed to forgive someone, he expected Jesus to give him a number. He thought that forgiving someone once was a lot and forgiving someone twice would be amazing. In his mind, if he forgave someone seven times that would be a super-human effort.
Keep in mind that Peter didn’t say he was talking about forgiving the same thing over and over. He was talking about forgiving the same person over and over. It could have been for the same thing or maybe different things. We don’t know and I don’t think it matters.
Jesus answers Peter with a number far beyond anything Peter could have imagined was reasonable. Then Jesus tells Peter a story.
The story is about a man who was forgiven a debt so incredibly large that it could never be paid back. Ever. (See Matthew 18: 21-35) In the story, the man’s debt comes due for payment but he is not able to pay. He begs for more time but instead receives something far more valuable: he is given a clean slate. The man leaves free of debt.
If that had been my story, I would hope that I would have felt appreciative. I like to imagine that I would be praising God and jumping up and down for joy. It would be time to party and I would want everyone I know to share my good fortune.
As I hear this story in Matthew, I can visualize the man leaving his master’s house and I am cheering for him to find ways of showing his gratitude. But that is not what happens. Instead, the man bumps into another servant like himself. Remembering that this second servant owes him some money, he mimics the master and threatens the servant with jail. He even goes further and physically assaults the man, choking him, while angrily demanding that he pay him back. When the second servant begs for more time, the first servant forgets that the master had forgiven his debt and he has the second servant thrown in prison.
Bad move.
Word gets back to the master and the thankless first servant gets what he deserves.
Boom.
I want to be forgiven, but am I ready for it? Will I waste it or learn from it? Will I be forgiving or forgetting?
I hope, by God’s grace, I can learn to be a good servant.
Application: Find ways to emulate God’s forgiving nature.
Food for Thought: How much is it worth to be forgiven by the Maker of All Things?
Another way to phrase this question could be – how much is the cross worth?
It was expensive, but what is its value?
You could also ask – how much is Jesus worth?
In Philippians 3; 7 – 11, the Apostle Paul answered by saying the value is so high that nothing else compares. Everything else is garbage compared to the worth of the cross and knowing Jesus.
But these are good questions for us all to answer. How we live our lives shows us what we think of the value of what has been given to us. Which gets us full circle to Matthew 18: 21 – 35.
Rich,
Thank you! Paul’s answer to the question is dramatic:
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” (Philippians 3: 7)
Knowing Jesus completely turned his world upside down and inside out.
01-04-2022, How much is it worth to be forgiven by the Maker of All Things?
Great verses Rich!
God the Father gave His only begotten Son. Jesus willingly gave all He had as He submitted to a brutal death at the hands of men so we, slaves to this sinful world could be forgiven all sins and receive eternal life in the presence of God.
John 3:16
From the cross, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing,” and gave up His Spirit.
Luke 23:34
The salvation of one sinner is priceless, beyond the ability of all mankind to pay. Yet God offers this priceless gift, FREE to all who will simply admit we are imperfect, sinful creatures. Incapable of meeting God’s standard of righteousness, and humbly submit to His will for our lives as we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as payment for our sins, and the power to satisfy God’s standard of righteousness.
Money cannot buy what God freely offers to all!
Thank you, Ron!
It is hard measuring the gift of life, isn’t it? 🙂
Your question made me think about times I have heard others say to me, or another person, “don’t worry about [the debt], its not worth losing the relationship over.” The Maker of All Things gave us one very special thing: free will. We took that free will and incurred a debt of sin, but to Him our relationship with Him is more valuable. He sent Jesus, and Jesus willingly came, to pay our debt. In His forgiveness He places our value above our sin. In His forgiveness He conquered sin and death, and kept our free will intact so we could truly choose. In His forgiveness He shows us that He wants us, and wants us to want Him.
Nicely said, Chris.
We may not be able to assign a $$ amount to a relationship, but we can value a relationship more than $$.