BREAKING NEWS: Forgive But Never Forget

How hard is forgiveness? Since the dawn of time people have let anger create gaps or the influence or actions of others create lasting wedges (adam, Eve and, the serpent). What is a biblical view of forgiveness? Matthew 18:21 begins with a question to Jesus by Simon Peter, "Lord, how many times can my brother sin against me and I still forgive him?" He suggests "7 times?." Jesus responds "no Peter as many as 77 times if need be" And then Jesus begins telling us the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35) A servant owed his master ten thousand talents (1 talent is equal to the average person's wage in 20 years). So in essence, the servant owed the master ten thousand twenty years wages. (Try wrapping your mind around that.) The servant could not pay so the master ordered him and his family along with all that he had to be sold to combat the deficit, but the servant fell two his knees begging for more time to pay and the master felt compassion and forgave the debt entirely. Later that day the debtless servant saw a man who owed him a hundred denarii (one day's pay) and began to assault the man telling him to "pay up." The man fell to his knees pleading for compassion but the man refused and had him thrown in jail! You may think that is absurd to be forgiven of so much and yet become enraged rather than forgive another! That is exactly the point. You see Romans 6:23 tells us "the wage of sin is death." If you are a believer, you owed a debt you couldn't pay and thanks to God and his amazing grace he took on flesh and willingly received the "wage" of our sin on the cross so we could receive his righteousness as our own (2 Corinthians 5:21) in other words, we owed a debt we couldn't pay and Jesus paid it all in our place, all the while forgiving us of our debt! How can we who have been forgiven so much refuse to forgive those who wrong us especially considering how short and finite this life is! Forgive often but never forget how much you've been forgiven, instead let the gospel be the fuel that gives you strength to forgive against all odds!