"'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:32-35
Jesus is our example and His Word is our standard. Here Jesus shows us a picture of a master who forgave his servant of a huge debt. The servant then left and tried to kill someone who owed him merely some change in comparison. The master called the wicked, unforgiving servant in and threw him into jail. The servant didn't appreciate and understand the forgiveness of the master.
The same is true in our lives today! If we have accepted God's forgiveness for our lies, attitudes, stealing, cheating, lust, anger, and selfishness..then we have a standard to follow ourselves. It's easy to forget how great a debt we have been forgiven. We don't have the correct perspective when it comes to people hurting us. We want to make them suffer or pay for their wrongs...when God has given the gift of eternal forgiveness to us!
I recently had a situation in my life where I was greatly hurt...by lots of people very close to me. It was extremely personal and I was innocent in this particular event. It was a dark time in my life and my solution to this was to crawl into bed and never have another relationship again. I wanted to put up walls to protect myself, wallow in self pity, hold grudges, run away, fight back...you name it...I wanted to do it.
But, God spoke to me so kindly. He reminded me that HE had never stopped forgiving ME. He had never served me divorce papers. He had always loved me...even when I was running from Him. He had given His Son so that I could be forgiven, and I could forgive. That has been a defining moment in my life. And at that moment, I learned that I can trust God...even when I can't always trust others. I can love God and through that love I can begin to love others like He does. I didn't want to be like the wicked servant. I wanted to embrace the freedom of forgiving others, loving them when they hurt me, returning evil with good, and trusting others by trusting God.
It wasn't easy! But, it is amazing! It is not something that many people understand, because it is a God thing. But, when you realize you have been forgiven much...you can't help but forgive and love much. We can't protect ourselves from hurt in this world. God's tells us in James that we WILL have trouble and trials. But, we can be tiny glimpses for God's forgiveness to those around us!
Are there those you haven't forgiven? Are you trying to protect yourself from being hurt by those around you? Are you the wicked servant? If so, spend some time with God today. Allow His forgiveness to penetrate your heart. You'll find it amazing how much easier it is to forgive others when you truly begin to see the amount of forgiveness God has given you!
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:32-35
Jesus is our example and His Word is our standard. Here Jesus shows us a picture of a master who forgave his servant of a huge debt. The servant then left and tried to kill someone who owed him merely some change in comparison. The master called the wicked, unforgiving servant in and threw him into jail. The servant didn't appreciate and understand the forgiveness of the master.
The same is true in our lives today! If we have accepted God's forgiveness for our lies, attitudes, stealing, cheating, lust, anger, and selfishness..then we have a standard to follow ourselves. It's easy to forget how great a debt we have been forgiven. We don't have the correct perspective when it comes to people hurting us. We want to make them suffer or pay for their wrongs...when God has given the gift of eternal forgiveness to us!
I recently had a situation in my life where I was greatly hurt...by lots of people very close to me. It was extremely personal and I was innocent in this particular event. It was a dark time in my life and my solution to this was to crawl into bed and never have another relationship again. I wanted to put up walls to protect myself, wallow in self pity, hold grudges, run away, fight back...you name it...I wanted to do it.
But, God spoke to me so kindly. He reminded me that HE had never stopped forgiving ME. He had never served me divorce papers. He had always loved me...even when I was running from Him. He had given His Son so that I could be forgiven, and I could forgive. That has been a defining moment in my life. And at that moment, I learned that I can trust God...even when I can't always trust others. I can love God and through that love I can begin to love others like He does. I didn't want to be like the wicked servant. I wanted to embrace the freedom of forgiving others, loving them when they hurt me, returning evil with good, and trusting others by trusting God.
It wasn't easy! But, it is amazing! It is not something that many people understand, because it is a God thing. But, when you realize you have been forgiven much...you can't help but forgive and love much. We can't protect ourselves from hurt in this world. God's tells us in James that we WILL have trouble and trials. But, we can be tiny glimpses for God's forgiveness to those around us!
Are there those you haven't forgiven? Are you trying to protect yourself from being hurt by those around you? Are you the wicked servant? If so, spend some time with God today. Allow His forgiveness to penetrate your heart. You'll find it amazing how much easier it is to forgive others when you truly begin to see the amount of forgiveness God has given you!
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