WRITTEN BY: Vee guereca
"Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” - Matthew 18:22
This verse is right after Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him. Giving himself an out, he asks, “seven times?” We do this a lot, don’t we? It feels like, because we are human, our capacity for forgiveness really depends on how much we can handle. Because Jesus is God, he takes our perspective and multiplies it. Again, we are human, so our reaction to that is, “that’s impossible.” Peter is wrestling with how much he could hand out forgiveness because he is unaware of how much forgiveness is handed out to him.
Jesus purposefully gives us what feels like impossible commands because he knows we can’t accomplish anything without him. We are forced to go to the source of forgiveness in order to forgive like Him.
When we fix our focus on Jesus and his faithfulness to us, we can’t help but let that change how we behave. What if instead of seeing how unworthy others are of our forgiveness, we took a second to see our unworthiness of God’s forgiveness, accepted it from Him, and gave the same to others?
A Prayer for Forgiveness: Jesus, thank you for forgiving us. In a year where things have not been the easiest for anyone, give us the strength to forgive and understand others in a time like this. We ask for your Spirit to constantly remind us of how you died on the cross for us even when you saw our future shortcomings. Thank you for giving us a picture of what forgiveness looks like so that we can forgive others. We pray this in your name, Amen.