Title seven times, seventy times
Contents
One day Peter came to Jesus and suddenly asked a question about forgiveness. “How many times can I forgive my brother Jesus when he sins against me?” It's not a small mistake, it's a mistake that can be called a sin, and if it's a brother, how many times can we forgive? Peter had a big heart and said seven times. In the Eastern worldview, where 3 is very important, the number three means the greatest consideration. As if to show a very loud favor, Peter threw it at Jesus seven times as a means of receiving praise more than twice as much. But instead, Jesus told us to forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven times. To Peter, who thought he would be praised if he said it seven times, Jesus gave an answer that was difficult to understand with his heart that he should forgive even 490 times.
Why did Jesus give the command to forgive so seemingly infinite?
First, because we want to see the future.
Forgiveness shows us the future. It is a forgiving heart that makes you see the possibilities of life and gives you new expectations for tomorrow. But an unforgiving heart always leads to a life stuck in the past. It makes me a past-oriented person, bound by memories of the past, gripped by the shock and anger I've experienced in the past. When a person who has experienced hurt and pain offers forgiveness, abandons hatred, prays for the offender, and forgives, a new life opens up for him because God puts hope for the future in forgiveness.
God is not past-oriented.
Jeremiah 29:11 I know the thoughts I have toward you, says the LORD, not evil, but peace, to give you hope for your future.
We need to look back, but we must not be past-oriented.
Bishop Desmond Tutu said, "Forgiveness removes from our memory the elements that adversely affect our lives." Forgiveness does not erase past events from memory, but breaks the chains of bondage that hold them back. That's what keeps us from exerting any evil influence over us. The moment we forgive, we have a fresh start.
If you want to be freed from the memories of the past and live a new life, you have to let go of the things of the past.
Don't let the influences of the past dominate you. Don't let the pain of the past become your future. A person who cannot see the future.
Second, the command to forgive is to remove the bad influences from our lives.
Bitter roots grow easily and spread easily. When I lived in the United States, I saw how quickly and deeply weeds grow in my garden. What I want grows less, while what I don't want spreads so easily and deeply. We often say, “I will not forgive you until I die” when someone hurts or insults you.
There are many who refuse to forgive, unable to overcome their broken hearts until they are almost to the grave. The unforgiving heart is like a strong bitter root, exerting a devious effect on our lives.
An unforgiving heart not only affects our soul and heart, it also affects our whole personality and body. Charles Stanley has this to say about the unforgiving heart:
“Nothing corrupts, destroys, or devastates life more than an unforgiving heart. An unforgiving heart adversely affects our bodies, emotions, minds, relationships, and work, as well as our goals in life, our effective religious life, and our lives relying on the witness of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. If you do not cast away your unforgiving heart, the precious things that exist within you will inevitably become corrupted and destroyed.”
An unforgiving heart also affects our relationship with God. Did you become a prayer after a couple quarrel?
Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger”
Dr. John Swartzberg of the University of California, Berkeley, in the U.C. Berkeley Wellness Letter, wrote a comprehensive analysis of research reports on “the relationship between anger and health,” and found that holding anger for a long time boosts the immune system. said to weaken.
Inner anger destroys the soul and even the body.
Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but sorrow dries up the bones. The anger that starts in our souls also catches the body and, in medical terms, destroys the immune system.
It is surprising that their unforgiving heart shortens their lifespan. What you have until now without overcoming the wounds you received 10 or 20 years ago is called a “vases”. It is a symptom that the hatred affects the whole body because the wounds in the heart cannot be overcome. In modern times, cancer and mental illness are on the rise, not just because the environment is bad, but because they have resentment in their hearts and they don't forgive.
So, in the book “The Anointing of the Holy Spirit,” Elder Ki-Chul Son
“Not forgiving is like eating rat poison and waiting for the other person to die. Then the other person doesn't die and you die. The bad person who harmed you, the person you did not forgive, doesn't think of you 24 hours a day, sleeps well and eats well. But when you sit or stand, you think of that person, and when you lie down, you can see his face on the ceiling, and just looking at a similar face makes your heart pound and your anger soars. There must be a reason for your inability to forgive, but your inability to forgive is evidence that you are tied to that person. Some diseases can be healed by just breaking free from hating and not forgiving someone. “
Unforgiveness destroys all the good things in life. It messes things up with relationships, minds, emotions and even the future. Vengeance leaves nothing behind. A particularly unforgiving heart has the power to make “you die and I die.”
The evil influence that arises from an unforgiving heart grabs and shakes our body, mind, and soul. Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” God wants to get rid of the filth in us. God cannot heal you when you hold on to your heart with an unforgiving and unforgiving heart. It cannot be warm. Choose forgiveness.
Third, forgiveness makes us stronger inwardly.
Our inability to forgive reveals that we are not strong on the inside.
When my inner condition is healthy and strong, nothing can break me down. However, when my inner state is not healthy and weak, I am broken and hurt even in small things. The reason we are sensitive to certain events tells us that our own inner state is so fragile. Through forgiveness, we can grow our inner condition in a big and strong way.
Fred Ruskin said, “Forgiveness is an act of strength.”
Romans 12:20 “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; in so doing you will heap coals of coals on his head.”
Benjamin Franklin said, "To take revenge is to put yourself on an equal footing, and to forgive is to make yourself better than your enemies."
Now we close the word. Choose forgiveness voluntarily. Forgiveness and failure to forgive depends on your own decisions. The sooner you make decisions, the more you will see the benefits. Of course, it is not easy to forgive. It can be very difficult. But choosing to forgive gives you freedom.
“If you sow a thought, you will reap an action; if you sow an action, you will reap a habit. If you sow a habit, you will reap a character; if you sow a character, you will reap a future destiny. Life is a choice, and the choice depends on the perspective of your thinking. The habit of forgiveness comes from choosing to forgive. Now that you are free, what would you choose?