Title Forgive even seventy seven times
Contents
Hymn: 198 (New Hymn 264) 'The Fountain of Purification'
Meditation: It is said that there is nothing in life as easy and difficult as forgiveness. However, if you forgive that is difficult and difficult to do, happiness will come to your heart. Are there any bitter roots that have not been plucked yet?
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless you forgive each of you his brother from the heart” (Matthew 18:21-35).
The most difficult thing in this world is to love and forgive. It's easy to say, but really hard to put into practice. It is possible to love temporarily, but it is not easy to love continuously for a long time. But Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant when he tells us to forgive seventy times seven times. What is the lesson Jesus is trying to convey through this parable?
First, we are all in debt. The 10,000 talents in the text is an amount that cannot be repaid even if you sell your body, your wife and children, and all you have. The servant who owes 10,000 talents is the image of us who have sinned before God. We were unforgivable sinners before God. And they were the people who hurt God's heart because they were enemies with God.
Second, we have been forgiven a huge debt from God. God had compassion on us and sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth. And through His death and resurrection on the cross, He forgave us of our sins and gave us freedom. The Bible says this is the forgiveness of God's infinite love and mercy toward us. That loving Lord still speaks to us through the words of Isaiah 1:18. “Come, let us argue with one another, though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Third, we must forgive our neighbors' petty debts. Because of the grace of Jesus Christ, we were forgiven for the debt of 10,000 talents, which we cannot pay. God has forgiven you. But the problem is that we forget this fact and treat our neighbors harshly who have committed minor sins against us. Jesus denounces this as a contradiction. Just as God forgave us, we should also be able to forgive our neighbors.
Prayer: God of forgiveness, thank you for forgiving our sins. Now let us love and forgive our neighbors. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer