Forgiving your Brother 490 Times

Forgiving your Brother 490 Times

            Matthew 18:15, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”  “Matthew 18:21 ¶ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”  These verses are on the same subject that we considered very briefly yesterday.  Do you think that this topic bears repeating?  I do because I know Christian people who have let their hearts fester for decades over wrongs that have been done to them.

            If you think yesterday’s admonishment of Jesus to forgive another seven times in one day is hard to understand, how about today’s admonition for a Christian to forgive another seventy times seven?  Let’s see, seventy times seven equals four hundred and ninety times (490).  I do not know about you but that seems to be a lot of times to me!  I have never had to forgive anyone nearly that many times in my lifetime.  To tell you the truth, I do not know how I would accomplish such a monumental task. I guess that I would have to go about it one forgiveness at a time.

            I have been thinking this morning about the number of times that my precious Savior Jesus Christ the righteous one has forgiven me in my lifetime.  I am sure it has been more than 490 times.  Since He freely has forgiven me all those times, He was not wrong in asking me to forgive another who has wronged me only a few times.  How about you, are you nursing a very old wound that you should have let the Healer heal in your heart?  If Satan cannot get you to rob a bank perhaps he can get you to harbor resentment and hurt in your body, mind, and soul.  If he can, the hurt will eat away at the health of your body mind and soul.  And by the way, the issue is not whether or not your brother asks for forgiveness, but rather whether or not you will forgive him. 

Prayer for the Day 

Lord, it is another day so I will need grace for this new day.  I want to thank You that You have enough grace for me so that I can live victoriously throughout this day.  Thank you for caring so much for me.  Lord I am asking you to help those musicians who are struggling over being able to forgive others today.  Help them to also know that Your grace is sufficient for them to meet every need of their lives.  Help them to know that Your grace is able to help them to forgive others who have wronged them.  This I pry in Your strong name.  Amen.