Have you got Unlimited Forgiveness?

UNLIMITED FORGIVENESS

Mt. 18:21-35

Simon Peter asked Jesus this question, "Lord, when my brother does me wrong, how often must I forgive him?"  Peter was much like you and me.  He was willing to forgive, up to a point, but he wanted to set some limits.  He assumed that forgiveness should cease, and resentment, if not revenge, would become the appropriate response.  Jesus saw the absurdity and futility of that attitude, and portrayed them in an unforgettable story about a servant who owed the king a huge amount of money.  When the time for paying the king came, the servant was unable to pay and begged for more time.  The king had mercy and forgave the entire debt.  Then that same servant went out and dealt harshly with a fellow servant who owed him a mere pittance.  When word of this got back to the king, he reinstated the forgiven debt and had the unmerciful servant thrown in prison.

By telling this story Jesus is telling us that we are all hopelessly in debt to God.  Our mean and selfish living has accumulated a moral deficit that we can never repay.  The only hope of recovery that any of us has, is for someone to step forward and cancel the debt.  That is what God’s Son has done for us on the Cross.  He has taken all our sins and written across the face of them, "Forgiven.  Cancelled.  No longer owed."  We can shout with the Apostle Paul, “It is in Christ and through His blood that we have been redeemed, and our sins forgiven, so immeasurably generous is God's favour to us."  (Eph. l:7)

To comprehend this story that Jesus told, we must remove it from its monetary setting.  Obviously, His concern was not owing and paying money.  He was talking about relationships - what people do to each other and to God.  That is the area where sins are committed and debts are accumulated. 

There are people who are tyrants in their own home?  Everyone is afraid of them and walks on eggshells around them.  If I do this will they like this?  Will they object to that?  Will they make a scene about this?  Having to pay money is not nearly so difficult as having to weigh every word and deed, lest feelings be hurt and tempers be lost.  Many a distracted husband, and wife, and child would gladly settle the account with cash, if only they could.  Anything to bring an end to the emotional blackmail that takes place in their home on a daily basis.  How many of us have known people like that?  In so many ways they make life unbearable for the people they live with.

Each one of us is in debt to others.  We owe more than we could ever hope to repay.  A harsh word, once it is spoken, can never be unspoken.  An unkind deed, once it is done, can never be undone.  Time will not heal either one.  They will go on hurting every time they are remembered.  The only solution is forgiveness.

God has done that for you and me, and so have a lot of other people.  Each of us is like that servant who, one moment, was hopelessly in debt, and, the next moment, heard the good news that his debt had been cancelled.

The second truth that Jesus emphasized with this story is that our forgiveness is conditional.  God's forgiveness depends upon our willingness to forgive others.  Anyone who will not meet that condition burns the very bridge over which he, himself, must cross to get to God.

In the prayer, the Our Father, that Jesus gave us, He taught His disciples to make six petitions.  The hardest among them concerns the forgiveness of our sins.  It is the only one that has a condition attached, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."  We are saying to God, "In the area of forgiveness, deal with us as we deal with one another."  The message of Jesus is inescapable.  There is no such thing as a private reconciliation with God.  We cannot be right with Him, unless our relationships with other people are as right as we can make them.

Go back to Simon Peter's question, "Lord, when my brother wrongs me, how often must I forgive him?"  Allow me to paraphrase the answer, "Simon, that depends on you.  How many times have you been forgiven in the past?  How many times do you want to be forgiven in the future?  If the day ever comes when you no longer need to be forgiven, you can stop forgiving.  But you had better be sure, because you cannot have God's mercy for yourself unless you are willing to share it with others."

Lord Jesus, the psalmist said, "The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion."  If we celebrate those qualities in You, should we not require them of ourselves?

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