Be Rid of The Pain

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21–22

D.L. MOODY
Peter did not seem to think that he was in danger of falling into sin; his question was, “How often should I forgive my brother?” But very soon we hear that Peter has fallen. I can imagine that when he did fall, the sweet thought came to him of what the Master had said.
The voice of sin may be loud, but the voice of forgiveness is louder.

ERWIN LUTZER
Jesus was essentially commanding unlimited forgiveness if your brother sins against you. I don’t need to tell you that we live in a hurting world. Many of those hurts come from within our own families. And yes, we are often hurt by the wider family of God. Aren’t you sometimes shocked at what Christians do to one another?
But let me clarify: There is a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. If someone sins against us, we must forgive them; if we do not forgive, we will live in our own torture chamber. Bitterness has deep and dark roots. We do ourselves a favor when we confess and forsake bitterness.
This doesn’t mean we have to be reconciled to people who repeatedly sin against us. Trust, once shattered, cannot easily be restored. Reconciliation is difficult, and in some instances, impossible.
Moody also applied this verse to God’s relationship with us. Yes, it is true that God has forgiven us seventy times seven…and in His case, He does receive us back to Himself.
Whatever you don’t forgive, you pass on. Release your bitterness to Christ.

PRAYER
Father, help me to be willing to forgive just as, in Christ, you forgave me.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Why Should God’s forgiveness of our sins be the root from which we forgive others?

Are there people in your life who you are refusing to forgive?