21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since 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.
26"The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32"Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." NIV
Jesus, My Master and King~
Thank you for teaching me about your infinite forgiveness this week. Your deep and inconceivable grace is the perfect model for forgiveness. I will strive to follow your example. My debt is so great. I could never repay it. The only thing I deserve is a hot seat in hell, but in your abounding mercy and tremendous pity, you forgave my debt, completely canceling it, stamped it FORGIVEN, and set me free. Thank you Jesus for paying it back in full at the cross. I’m sorry that I forget the magnitude of what you’ve done for me. I am so unworthy of the liberty you’ve given me.
I have not always been as benevolent or lenient with those who have offended me. There have been times when I’ve refused to forgive. I’ve held grudges and sought revenge. Bitterness and hatred grew in my heart like weeds with long indestructible roots. My life was corrupt because I failed to embrace the principle of grace. By refusing to forgive I missed opportunities to experience the joy of my salvation.
Please dear Lord, continue to shine your light on my heart. Search for any areas of bitterness caused by unforgiveness. When you expose them I will obey and go to the one who has hurt me or whom I have hurt and seek heartfelt forgiveness. I will learn to forgive from my heart every time I think of a painful incident, repeatedly, seven times seventy.
Please give me more insight to turn my spirit of bitterness into a spirit of forgiveness. Show me ways to demonstrate love and acceptance to those who have wronged me. Take my difficult situations and use them to advance the gospel and further your kingdom. Use them to conform me to be like Jesus. I just need increasingly more grace to respond like the Master with amazing patience, astonishing mercy, and absolute forgiveness. Amen
Whom are you finding it difficult to forgive? Ask God to show you how to turn your bitterness into forgiveness. Ask Him to show you how you can demonstrate love and acceptance to the person who has hurt you.
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