Post by Scott Ross on May 20, 2008 10:19:25 GMT -5
There is sure a lot of of good stuff in these two chapters.
I have spoken with some friends recently concerning the issue of forgiveness. At a dinner with a couple from our church, we got into a pretty serious discussion concerning the issue forgiveness, and how hard it is to forgive some of those who continue to abuse our friendship.
It has also been a topic with a friend I met through participation here on the TMB.
Jesus makes it pretty clear as to what a lack of forgiveness on our part means in the following passage from Matthew 18:
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
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."
When we commit our lives to Jesus, we are forgiven of all our sins, and future sin is covered by the grace of God.
Because the bible speaks of the need to forgive in order to be forgiven, to me that means that no matter what someone does to me or against me, I still need to forgive that person..... not just once, but each and every time that person wrongs me.
Without forgiveness on our part, we can not be forgiven.
To me, that does not mean I have to GO to that person and tell them I forgive them, it means I MUST forgive them from my heart. (Of course there are times when it is best to let someone know that you have forgiven them)
In my life I have found that when I harbor feelings of resentment and anger, it only harms me, and does nothing for how the one I have a resentment against feels.
Forgiving others does US good, it doesn't make the other person any better....
One thing I have pointed out to another friend of mine is that forgiveness does NOT mean forgetfulness. We can be on guard against those who continue to wrong us, and do our part to remove ourselves from situations which may bring harm to us or those around us.
It is our own fault if we continue to place ourselves in a position to be wronged by others.
Scott
I have spoken with some friends recently concerning the issue of forgiveness. At a dinner with a couple from our church, we got into a pretty serious discussion concerning the issue forgiveness, and how hard it is to forgive some of those who continue to abuse our friendship.
It has also been a topic with a friend I met through participation here on the TMB.
Jesus makes it pretty clear as to what a lack of forgiveness on our part means in the following passage from Matthew 18:
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
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."
When we commit our lives to Jesus, we are forgiven of all our sins, and future sin is covered by the grace of God.
Because the bible speaks of the need to forgive in order to be forgiven, to me that means that no matter what someone does to me or against me, I still need to forgive that person..... not just once, but each and every time that person wrongs me.
Without forgiveness on our part, we can not be forgiven.
To me, that does not mean I have to GO to that person and tell them I forgive them, it means I MUST forgive them from my heart. (Of course there are times when it is best to let someone know that you have forgiven them)
In my life I have found that when I harbor feelings of resentment and anger, it only harms me, and does nothing for how the one I have a resentment against feels.
Forgiving others does US good, it doesn't make the other person any better....
One thing I have pointed out to another friend of mine is that forgiveness does NOT mean forgetfulness. We can be on guard against those who continue to wrong us, and do our part to remove ourselves from situations which may bring harm to us or those around us.
It is our own fault if we continue to place ourselves in a position to be wronged by others.
Scott