Verse: Matthew 18:21-22 21
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. \
Devotion:
Man… is this a challenging passage or what? I am positive if I were Peter, I would do the same exact thing. Actually, I would probably say, I’ll forgive someone seven times, then look to Jesus and wait for Him to praise how generous and gracious I am. How comical that Jesus’ immediate response is seven? Try seventy seven. At least that’s how I picture this conversation going down when I read it.
Jesus redefines forgiveness for us. He doesn’t literally mean the limit for forgiveness is seventy seven times. He means that there should be no limit to forgiveness. It really exemplifies Jesus’ heart for us. THANK GOD He doesn’t tell us that we only get seventy seven chances at forgiveness and then we’re cut off. If that were the case, I’d be toast in a week. (Or maybe less if we’re being honest).
Jesus knew we were sinners when He still decided to die for us. His heart posture is forgiveness. It is ongoing and unconditional. Jesus doesn’t keep count, but extends grace and mercy over and over again as we fall short. This really challenges us to look at the way we extend forgiveness. Our lives are meant to reflect the heart of Jesus to a dark and broken world. This includes His posture towards forgiveness.
When we honestly look at the way we hold grudges and feel personally wronged, holding onto resentment, can we say we forgive like Jesus? Our natural, sinful, human inclination is to harbor anger, bitterness, and seek retribution. Jesus invites us to extend radical grace, compassion, and forgiveness, just as He extends to us. *I would be amiss if I didn’t acknowledge that this is NOT telling us that we have to give everyone free access to our lives. Jesus is not telling us that we just ignore when someone wrongs us over and over again and that we have to continue to allow them into our inner circle. That is not the heart of this passage, and sometimes the most loving thing we can do is set boundaries that are needed to protect ourselves. If you have questions about this, please reach out to someone from our team so we can help walk through this with you.*
Rather, the heart of this passage is truly that Jesus wants freedom from bitterness and anger. He wants us to step into a heart posture of grace and compassion. He wants us to experience what it feels like to have empathy for a broken world, and to be the light. He wants to cultivate a heart in us that reflects His heart to the world.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for Your limitless grace and mercy. Thank You for never running out of forgiveness for me when I fall short. Lord, help make my heart look more like Yours. Help me to see the grudges and bitterness that I am holding onto. Then, show me how to put it down at Your feet so that I might experience freedom from the anger. Mold my heart to look more like Yours Lord, we love you. Amen.
Author: Becca Artymenko
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