More on forgiveness

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. – Matthew 18.32-35

Forgiveness must be a really big deal as much as Jesus talks about it. Here is tells a story about how important it is to forgive especially for those who have been forgiven.

Jesus tells the story of an average man who had incurred a very high debt to the lord of the land. He could never pay it back and his only recourse was to go to the lord and ask to have his debt forgiven. So he did and the lord forgave his great debt.

When this man went back to his job he was confronted by a servant who owed him a very small debt, petty compared to the debt he had just been forgiven of. Of course his little debt would be forgiven.

But the man was furious! He wanted the debt paid and he wanted it now! He had the servant beaten and thrown into a debtor’s prison.

His lord however heard about it and called him to account. ‘How could you not forgive this man after all I forgave you for?’ So the lord had him treated the same way as the servant.

The point is for us to consider how we can possibly not forgive others. When we consider all that we have been forgiven how can we ever bear a grudge or be bitter? How can one who has been forgiven so much be unwilling to forgive so little?

Is there anybody out there still waiting on your forgiveness?