Community & Discipleship
True Love Forgives (Mat. 18:21~35)
Love has no limits, and we must forgive from the heart as God has forgiven us, because we have received mercy far greater than any debt anyone owes us.
Love has no limits, because love looks like Jesus (21-22)
Peter asks how many times he must forgive a brother who sins against him, offering seven times, which already goes beyond the three-strikes limit of his day. Jesus answers seventy-seven times, not as a number to count but to show that forgiveness has no end. When we ask when we may stop loving or forgiving, the answer is never. Love has no limits, because the love we are called to show is the love of Jesus, and his love has no limits.
We forgive because we have been forgiven much (23-33)
Jesus tells of a servant forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents who then refuses to forgive a fellow servant owing a hundred denarii. The contrast shows the scale of mercy we have received from God. When we understand the sin we committed against the holy God and the grace that still forgave us, we will be humbled and thankful. That mercy makes it harder to hold on to resentment. When we extend the same mercy to others, we show them a little of what Jesus looks like.
Love forgives from the heart (34-35)
The master hands the unforgiving servant over to the jailers, and Jesus warns that the heavenly Father will deal the same way with those who do not forgive a brother or sister from the heart. To forgive from the heart means to offer forgiveness truly and sincerely. Such forgiveness is beyond human strength. Some North Korean believers who suffered extreme torture still forgive those who harmed them and long to bless them, because they have experienced the forgiving love of Jesus.
Humble, examine, admit, release, and transfer grace
Forgiveness begins with humbling ourselves before God, because pride that claims our rights is the number one barrier to forgiving. Next we examine our own sins, since we are often blind to our faults and most sensitive to the sins we still carry. We then admit our hurts and angry feelings honestly to ourselves, to God, and to the offender, without attacking them. Finally we release the offender by choosing to forgive, and we transfer the grace we have received into grace given.
Kingdom culture is a forgiving culture
We are citizens of a greater kingdom, where the culture is forgiveness and only God is judge. A South African woman whose son and husband had been killed by police officers forgave the officer responsible and asked to embrace him, and the courtroom began to sing Amazing Grace. Romans 12 tells us not to take revenge, because the Lord will repay. When we hold a grudge, we doubt the Judge. The kingdom of God is filled with people who have received forgiveness and who give it.
Apply to Life
- Let us humble ourselves before God and pray for those who have wronged us.
- Let us examine our own sins before we judge the sins of others.
- Let us be honest about our hurts with ourselves, with God, and with the one who offended us.
- Let us choose to forgive from the heart and release the grudges we hold, as the Lord forgave us.
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