Matthew 18: 21-22, 35. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespass.
Forgiveness is possibly the most difficult aspect of our faith, but also one of the most important. Forgiving someone who’s wronged you isn’t easy, especially if it’s a serious hurt. However it is a foundation stone of Jesus’ philosophy. Peter knew this, but figured there had to be some limit to it. So, thinking he was being rather generous, he asked if seven times was sufficient. He must have been shocked when Jesus said seventy times seven. Seven times is hard enough, but 490. Wow! Jesus had to be joking. Human nature did not possess the capacity for so much goodness and generousity of heart. Peter was lucky he did not propose a higher number, because Jesus would simply have added a zero and multiplied them the same way. But why is forgiveness so important eh? Because it’s inextricably tied up with LOVE; the main theme. You can’t LOVE, if you don’t forgive, simple as that. Peter’s question led Jesus to tell them the parable about the rich man forgiving his servant a great debt when he asked for compassion, then that same ungrateful servant throwing his debtor into jail, until he paid the pittance he owed. That has always puzzled me; if someone can’t pay their debts while outside working, how can they, if in prison unemployed? Anyway, the other servants told the master about it, and he angrily confronted the ingrate, saying that just as he, the master, had shown him compassion when he begged for it, he should also have have shown mercy to the other servant. Then he had him imprisoned until he could pay his debt. ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespass,’ were Jesus’ closing words. Yes my Friends, it is blatant hypocrisy when we ask the Lord to forgive us, but can’t forgive others, usually of lesser stuff. Not only is harbouring resentment and all that negative stuff, physically unhealthy, since it builds up bitterness in our souls, it also blocks our communication with God. Like how bad weather plays havoc with t.v and radio transmission, that negativity creates static in our wireless transmission with God. He doesn’t hear us, so he can’t answer. Oh People, it’s basically a selfish attitude. Reminds me of the old T&T saying, ‘do so ent like so.’ We don’t like the things we do to others done to us. Like what they say about payback nuh. (smile) Jesus said it so many different ways: do unto others as you’d like them do to you; fix your problem with your brother before you come to God; take the beam out of your own eye before you try to take the mote out of someone else’s. But that’s the nature of the human animal; selfish. However Friends, if we want to be a clone of Jesus, we’ve got to curb that attitude, reduce it to the bare minimum, so the Father will respond in kind to us. Much LOVE!..it’s not easy…but with God’s help…we can walk the talk of forgiveness…
Forgiveness is possibly the most difficult aspect of our faith, but also one of the most important. Forgiving someone who’s wronged you isn’t easy, especially if it’s a serious hurt. However it is a foundation stone of Jesus’ philosophy. Peter knew this, but figured there had to be some limit to it. So, thinking he was being rather generous, he asked if seven times was sufficient. He must have been shocked when Jesus said seventy times seven. Seven times is hard enough, but 490. Wow! Jesus had to be joking. Human nature did not possess the capacity for so much goodness and generousity of heart. Peter was lucky he did not propose a higher number, because Jesus would simply have added a zero and multiplied them the same way. But why is forgiveness so important eh? Because it’s inextricably tied up with LOVE; the main theme. You can’t LOVE, if you don’t forgive, simple as that. Peter’s question led Jesus to tell them the parable about the rich man forgiving his servant a great debt when he asked for compassion, then that same ungrateful servant throwing his debtor into jail, until he paid the pittance he owed. That has always puzzled me; if someone can’t pay their debts while outside working, how can they, if in prison unemployed? Anyway, the other servants told the master about it, and he angrily confronted the ingrate, saying that just as he, the master, had shown him compassion when he begged for it, he should also have have shown mercy to the other servant. Then he had him imprisoned until he could pay his debt. ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespass,’ were Jesus’ closing words. Yes my Friends, it is blatant hypocrisy when we ask the Lord to forgive us, but can’t forgive others, usually of lesser stuff. Not only is harbouring resentment and all that negative stuff, physically unhealthy, since it builds up bitterness in our souls, it also blocks our communication with God. Like how bad weather plays havoc with t.v and radio transmission, that negativity creates static in our wireless transmission with God. He doesn’t hear us, so he can’t answer. Oh People, it’s basically a selfish attitude. Reminds me of the old T&T saying, ‘do so ent like so.’ We don’t like the things we do to others done to us. Like what they say about payback nuh. (smile) Jesus said it so many different ways: do unto others as you’d like them do to you; fix your problem with your brother before you come to God; take the beam out of your own eye before you try to take the mote out of someone else’s. But that’s the nature of the human animal; selfish. However Friends, if we want to be a clone of Jesus, we’ve got to curb that attitude, reduce it to the bare minimum, so the Father will respond in kind to us. Much LOVE!..it’s not easy…but with God’s help…we can walk the talk of forgiveness…
SCRIP-BITS 