Matthew 18:21-35
Verse 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
We mentioned yesterday that forgiveness doesn’t come easy to us. Peter understood that well, which led him to ask the question in our main verse for the day. If we were honest with ourselves we would have to admit we have also wondered how many times we have to forgive certain people in our lives. We may even ask if we have to forgive them at all. When we have been hurt it is hard to think the person deserves a good thought, let alone forgiveness.
Betrayal, broken hearts, abuse, disagreements and misunderstandings set us in a place where we have a choice – forgive or not forgive. Since these situations aren’t limited to God’s people, we should see them as opportunities to show how God changes us, making us more like Himself. Being God’s child in no way lessens the pain each of these situations bring. We will all face these things during our lives and so forgiveness really is something we need to understand.
The pain of these events can take years to get over, but we will never move through the pain if we are not willing to forgive the person who inflicted the pain. Depending on the way the pain was brought upon us, we may need to seek help to work through the effects that pain has caused in other areas of our lives. That is the thing about these types of situations, they often affect more than the relationship it happened in.
A betrayal by a friend can lead us to shy away from forming other deep friendships, if the betrayal was by a spouse we may give up on marriage due to our broken heart. Abuse can keep us from trusting anyone and change the way we think about ourselves. If we have had disagreements or misunderstandings we may start questioning if we are someone who can’t communicate well. Each of these reactions can be lessened through true forgiveness.
The people who hurt us in these ways are the hardest to forgive. We may want something from them before we forgive them, something like an apology or some sort of restitution, but forgiveness shouldn’t have strings attached. We should forgive with the same heart God does.
Making It Personal
When have you struggled with forgiving someone? What makes their sin against you so unforgivable? Have you ever done anything which other people may find hard to forgive?
Making It Personal Kids
Has someone done something to you which you have a hard time forgiving them for? Have you ever done something to someone else which they haven’t wanted to forgive you for? Have you asked them to forgive you?
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess that though we should forgive as You do, we often hold onto hurts. Teach us how to forgive so we can reveal that part of Your character to those around us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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