“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ”
– Matthew 18:32,33
 In Matthew 18, Jesus shares a parable about forgiveness. He describes a king with numerous debts owed to him and a servant who owed him an insane amount of money. In modern day, it would be the equivalent of someone owing a trillion dollars to the President. But the king agreed to forgive the debt! That same servant was owed a hundred pieces of silver by a colleague, which equates to 100 days of work and still a large amount of debt. Yet the servant became violent and demanded his money back! When we don’t forgive our neighbor, we’re in essence telling God that we don’t value His forgiveness of us. It’s possible to forget God forgave us, but imagine how insulting that is to Him.
My observation has been that often in churches the people who were the most sinful before they came to faith in Jesus are also the ones who are the most loving, forgiving, and passionate followers of Jesus. In their minds, they know they have sinned just as much as the rest of us. It’s something they feel. Since they know they were forgiven, they are patient, merciful, friendly, and love their enemies. Friend, it is important that you remember that when you offended God, or was lost, He forgave and loved you. And He continues to do so. As we discussed recently, why did Jesus tell us to forgive seventy-seven times? The forgiveness you receive from God is that great. After messing up a million times, you think God can never forgive you, but He does. God loves you so much, and you are so precious to him. God treasures you! |
Prayer
Father, please help me always to remember that you will always forgive me.
Reflection
Are you aware of how great God’s forgiveness is?
If you’re unable to attend your local church or need some additional weekly inspiration, be sure to tune into Hour of Power every Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. PT on TBN or watch online at hourofpower.org/episode.
