“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22.

We are all born with a sinful nature and consequently, are subject to transgress at any given time; but the good news is that God’s amazing grace through Jesus Christ our Lord saves us from the penalty of sin and provides the way to eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. However, salvation does not exempt us from the onslaughts of our enemy to put roadblocks in our paths to sin.

Sin separates us from God, and we need His forgiveness to live in relationship and fellowship with Him. God faithfully forgives us when we seek Him in true repentance. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.

Likewise, the bible teaches us that just as we seek and receive forgiveness from our Heavenly Father, we too must have compassion and forgiveness for others. Matthew 6:12 states: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” the apostle Peter asked Jesus how many times to forgive his brother who had sin against him; “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven time: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:22. That is like saying “I have told you a million times!” you don’t literally mean a million times . . . Jesus was saying don’t keep score, just keep on forgiving.

Our Heavenly Father forgives us and wipes the slate clean every morning! “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23. I am not sure about you, but I can only say…thank you Lord, for blessing me, even in the midst of my own messed!

Forgiveness is a matter of the heart; it takes compassion, love, and the power of the Holy Spirit to truly forgive those who have hurt, wronged, or possibly greatly disappointed us. I am reminded of the parable of the Unmerciful Servant in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 18. The servant’s master called on him to account for ten thousand talents that he owed him. He fell down and worshipped him, begging for his patience until he could repay; the master had compassion on him and let him go.

Yet, this same servant went out and found one of his own fellow servants that owed him, and vehemently demanded payment; the servant was unable to pay and likewise asked for his patience. The unmerciful servant denied the fellow servant his request. The news reached his master, and he questioned him about his uncompassionate treatment of the fellow servant. “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?” Matthew 18:32-33. Subsequently, his lord turned him over to the tormentors until he could repay his own debt.

God loves us unconditionally and forgives us repeatedly; His word tells us that we must also show love and compassion for others; if we, like the unmerciful servant, choose not to show the mercy that we so graciously receive from our Lord…then we too will reap the consequences. “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:15.

It is not easy to forgive when we have been hurt; but how many of us have sweat great drops of blood or have been crucified on a cross for the sins of the entire world?  There is absolutely no comparison! May we all stop for a moment and consider the passion of our Christ…”But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.

My friends, what a loving and merciful God we serve. So, the next time that you want to feel sorry for yourself and have a woe is me attitude, somebody did me wrong song…look to the cross! When we wholeheartedly seek God’s mercifulness and forgiveness, He is faithful and just to forgive us. The Holy Spirit’s power gives us the grace that we need to live in righteousness towards our fellowman and walk pleasing before our Savior… it’s called grace for grace, God so lovingly gives us His amazing grace and we too by His power must also extend grace to forgive others.

“I don’t forgive people because I am weak; I forgive them because I am strong enough to accept the fact that we all make mistakes.” Unknown.

Blessings and peace for a wonderful day in the Lord!