Thought of the Day !!

Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?"

"No!" Jesus replied, "seventy times seven!"

Matthew 18:21-22 (NLT)

In the book He Still Moves Stones Max Lucado writes that bitterness is its own prison. It's a prison that Lucado describes as having sides slippery with resentment and floors muddy with anger. There's an open door to the cell, but our own self-pity blocks the view of it.

Bitterness is a byproduct of unforgiveness. Just as with an open wound, when we allow it to fester, it will only get worse and worse. Sooner or later it will get infected and could even lead to destruction. In the case of the wound, amputation of a limb is possible if it gets bad enough. In the case of allowing unforgiveness to fester, it could lead to the amputation of the soul.

Jesus was not pointing out that we should forgive 490 times (70x7). He was pointing out that it should be too often to keep count of. This is not for the health of the person being forgiven. It is for our own health. For the one who never forgives is almost always hurt more than the one not forgiven. Think about it. If someone does something to you, he or she may forget all about it or believe that they've received forgiveness or at the very least know that they are sorry. But if you're the one who doesn't forgive, then you are the one that's left with the destructive anger inside that eats at you for the rest of your life.

Maybe that is why Jesus was so adamant about forgiveness. Or maybe it was because he knew that if he were going to forgive us all for all the things we've ever done, that we should at least be willing to forgive those who do something against us. Another scripture comes to mind where Jesus teaches us that if we're not willing to forgive, our Heavenly Father will not forgive us. Yet another good reason to continually forgive.

May your day be a day filled with forgiveness. And may the forgiveness flow both ways.

In the love of Christ,
greg