Just Forgive

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?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  (Matthew 18:21-22)

Let’s face it: Forgiveness is complicated! When Simon Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother or sister, he already had a number in mind. In fact, he doubled the number which the rabbis taught during his day, and added another forgiveness token to his answer. Jesus gave him a number which literally astounded him; and this probably pushes us to the limit, as well.

Most of us, if we are offended by the same person that many times, we would certainly move on. We wouldn’t give a habitual offender any more room to offend or hurt us. This is complicated. Jesus told us to keep on forgiving. Why? Because God is in the forgiveness business. It is a family business, and you are to be part of His business. That’s not easy.

Forgive my brother or sister? Oh, definitely! The very people we need to forgive are the people close to us. We have dropped our defenses with them. Because we are not expecting a “cheap shot,” when it happens, it hurts us deeply. Their wounds inflict more pain because we never thought “they” would ever jab us, and jab us they did.

I was talking to a fellow believer who had just been brutalized behind his back by another believer. He said, “You know, sheep bites hurt worse than any other bite…and they take much longer to heal.” You never expect a sheep to draw blood, but some of God’s children have that ability. What do you do? Just forgive them…and forgive them…and forgive them, etc.

A wise person once said, “To forgive is to set the prisoner free and to discover that the prisoner is you!” Forgiveness (although always complicated), is necessary for the child of God to move forward in their journey home. To refuse forgiveness, regardless of the depth of the offense, is to make a reservation for personal incarceration. Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to forgive someone? Of course, but that’s not real life! The human condition involves navigating the activity of an evil heart, bent on careless destruction. Sometimes, that heart is ours and other times, it is someone else. When it’s your turn to forgive, just forgive.

“Dear Jesus, I‘m not good at this forgiveness thing…Without you, I’m lost. Without your power at work within and through me, I’m hopeless. I throw all of me on You and cry, ‘Show me how to forgive!”