Bible Reading: Matthew 18
Matthew 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
To refuse to forgive is to take the good gifts of God for granted. The story that Jesus told to illustrate forgiveness vividly accentuates this point. One servant owed a king ten thousand talents. There was no way he could repay this amount and he and his whole family were going to be sold to pay for a small portion of the debt. The servant begged the king for more time and the gracious king forgave the whole debt. This man who was just set free went immediately and started choking a fellow servant who owed him a rather small debt in comparison to what he had just been forgiven.
When the king learned how he had treated the other man, he called him back and threw him into prison until he paid the last debt. The king pointed out that he should have had compassion on the other man just as the king had compassion on him. This is the whole point. God has given us grace; we must give this grace to others. God has forgiven us, we should forgive others.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
We do not deserve the grace and forgiveness we receive. It is for the sake of Christ that God has forgiven us. Others may not deserve forgiveness in our eyes, but compare that to the way we look to God. No one could owe us as much as we owe God. He has forgiven and so must we. To not forgive is to take God’s grace for granted. To not forgive is to be locked in a prison.
Let us not take the compassion and grace we have received for granted. Let us show compassion to others for the sake of Christ.
In Christ,
Rody
