Matthew 18:35 This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.
Today we need to read the context from which this verse was taken in order to understand just what is being said. Otherwise we are left with only a vague idea of what is going on. Let’s hop back to verse 23 and read the parable of a king wanting to settle accounts of his servants before coming back to learn how it applies to us.
We see in the parable that the king forgave the debts of his servant and released him. But the servant, though forgiven, refused to extend the same forgiveness to one who was indebted to him. The master (the king) called him back in and told him he was wicked for not having mercy on his fellow servants the way the king had shown mercy toward him. He was then handed over to be tortured until he had repaid all he owed.
Ouch. That is a very dire warning for us. If we fail to extend mercy and forgive in the same way God had mercy on us and forgave us, we will not be forgiven after all. This story shows us what we have already learned this month – we are to forgive others just as we have been forgiven and failing to do so will result in us being punished.
This parable serves as a reminder that God has forgiven us. He extends grace and mercy to us, deserved or not. And He expects us to do the same for others. We are to genuinely and wholeheartedly forgive the wrongdoing done against us.
Today is the day to let go of those things. Let go of the bitterness, the anger, the hurt and any other emotion associated with the wrongs done against you. Be freed of the negativity of all such emotions. Forgive and restore relationships with others as you have been restored and redeemed by the Father.
Be the first to comment