Peter asked Jesus how many times he had to forgive someone. Peter thought that forgiving seven times was pretty good. "No!" Jesus answered, "seventy times seven!" Then Jesus gave an illustration showing how God views our responsibility to forgive.
A king became aware that one of his servants owed him a significant amount, so he ordered the servant brought before him and demanded the servant pay every penny. The servant could not pay so the king ordered the man and his family sold into slavery to pay the debt. The servant fell before the king and pleaded for mercy. The king felt pity and forgave him the tremendous debt.
The servant found a fellow servant who owed him and demanded payment. The friend begged for mercy, but the servant would not forgive him and had him thrown into prison.
When the king heard about it, he was angry! He called in the servant and demanded to know why he had acted so unforgiving toward his friend when he had been forgiven so much. Then the king commanded the servant be thrown into prison until he had paid every penny.
God gave His only Son to die in our place. That is mercy beyond comprehension. How, then, can we ever refuse to give mercy to others when we have received so much mercy ourselves. To the degree that we show mercy to the poor, the wretched, and the guilty, we are like God.
Your View of God Really Matters …
Since God richly lavishes His mercy on us, we must show mercy to one another. And that means letting go of all those old hurts caused by others.
Learn more about God’s character at Discover God, by Bright Media Foundation, an affiliate of Cru.
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Bright Media Foundation is an affiliate of Cru.
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