There's this thing in children that sometimes make them do things you warn them against over, and over again. You may tell a child not to turn on the TV for instance, and at that moment, he pretends to listen only to find out that he has done the same thing. The most important thing I want you to see from here is the fact that the mother of the child will not disown the child or say his father too. Sometimes they may scold the child, but then, the end goal is to correct him, and make him do the right thing, and when he apologises for doing wrong, no matter how many times he does that, the parent forgives him.
Did you know that the reason many marriages have issues is because most times, one of the parties is not willing to be ever forgiving? You know, as humans, we cannot deny the fact that we err, and that's the reason for forgiveness; looking over our shortcomings, and restoring relationships. Your husband may do something you don't like, and after being told by you, he repeats the same thing, and likewise your wife but does that mean you should leave the marriage? The one thing about marriage is not that offences don't come from either of the spouse, but that each time that happens, there's a system of forgiveness that erases fault, and restores peace no matter how many times it occurs. Forgiveness is one of the lubricants in any marriage. As the husband or wife, you must learn to be ever forgiving. Glory to God.
This is not just limited to marriage, but also, friendships, and even in the family. The emphasis today is on believers. Let me quickly say something to every believer reading this; that even if others refuse to forgive, we must not be like them, why? Because there's now a nature of forgiveness at work in us. This will lead us into our study today, and I trust the Lord to help us understand his word. Amen. The passage of scripture to be considered is seen below,
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? [22] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven". (Matthew 18:21-22).
What is forgiveness? In very simple terms, it means 'letting go of'. The question now is, letting go of what? Of the wrongs done against you by others, and this you have to do with all your heart. If the Lord Jesus pardoned you for lying but decided not to forgive for stealing, I am sure you wouldn't be saved today. When you forgive therefore, you do that with all your heart, and you forget everything as though it never happened. You let go of completely. Hallelujah. If then we understand the meaning of forgiveness, why then should we forgive others? Because you, and I were forgiven, and that's the main reason we can call ourselves children of God. Glory to God.
Let's take a look at our anchor text, and see what the mind of the Father is for us today. Peter, one of Jesus' disciples came to him with a question, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? You see, Peter knew for sure that it was possible for someone to repeatedly wrong him, but that was not his concern, he wanted to know for how long he had to tolerate that, and for him, at most seven times, and that person will no longer be qualified for his forgiveness. The response of Jesus was indeed amazing. Jesus increased the number of times; rather than seven, he said seventy times seven, that is, 490 times.
Someone reading this today may ask, why do I have to be that patient? Because the Lord, your Saviour commands that you forgive. No one would offend you 490 times in a day, and I doubt if that would even happen in a week, in a month, or even a year. Let's do something very practical, take an inventory of someone's fault you're not willing to forgive, is it up to 490? That means you still have a lot of forgiving to do if it's not up to, and even if it is, Jesus still says to forgive. Please note that even 490 times is not the limit, you're to forgive as many times as you can. That's is God's desire for his children, that we be like him. Husbands are to be ever forgiving, and so are the wives; children and parents, friends, brethren in Christ. This is that which the Lord desires we do. May the Lord help us in Jesus' name. Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
It doesn't matter how many times a person offends you, there's just one thing to do, forgive.
Gospel Today is a comforting, exhorting, edifying and inspiring devotional published by the Delightsome Land Christian Ministry. For questions, enquiries/testimonies, please call/WhatsApp: 08174915361, 08053662272 or Email: [email protected].
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