I am spending time with God in Matthew 18 this morning. In fact it is where we were in Bible Study last night. It is the account of Jesus comparing forgiveness and heaven.
Let me paraphrase it. Jesus says there is a man who owes someone Millions of dollars. That is a picture of our debt to God. We are sinners and if we ask God for forgiveness we are granted what we ask for. Now, we shouldn’t think we can receive forgiveness if we are not sincere.
When God forgives us it doesn’t mean we will look different.
It doesn’t mean that we will always feel like we have been forgiven, but rest assured if you were sincere it is done for you.
Forgiveness no doubt if one of those things that we have to grow into. Learn to fully understand. I am certainly still doing that.
At any rate the Bible says that our sin debt is HUGE. in the story in Matthew 18 our debt is MILLIONS of dollars.
Then when the man in the story has been forgiven, set free from his load of debt, he goes out and finds someone who essentially owes him pennies compared to the debt he was just released from and he has no mercy on the person. Matter of fact he throws the man in jail until he can pay all the debt.
Here is what we know from Jesus story.
He is willing to forgive our debt if we ask with a sincere heart.
It is a HUGE debt.
It is FREE, once it is forgiven it is done, finished.
However, the Bible teaches throughout, when a man or woman follows God we become like God, not in a way to take over but in a way that we have His heart. If God gives forgiveness to us then we in turn will be so great full that we will offer forgiveness to others.
In the story it is obvious the debt God forgives me for is much larger than any debt I may forgive a fellow human being. I know it may not seem that way to me but God has an eternal perspective. God says if you have been forgiven, you must forgive.
Here is something else I see in this story. The man who had been forgiven but wouldn’t forgive another, he was cast into prison until he could pay his original debt. Which by the way, that is an impossible task, we can’t pay the amount, it’s not possible.
We as humans have a hard time accepting Gods forgiveness and an even harder time forgiving others. In the story we learn when we don’t forgive, we lock ourselves away in our own prisons. The person needing forgiveness will never deserve it, forgive them anyway. Jesus did share in this story the offender asked for time to repay the debt but the person wasn’t willing to let that happen so he himself ended up in prison.
Jesus makes no indication that the offender even has to ask for forgiveness, just that we are to forgive with the forgiveness we have received.
You think about it, do you want to be free?
Ronnie