(Read Matthew 18:21-35)
This morning I am going to do something a little different. I have been teaching you about grace and about the importance of “Minimizing Your Humanity and Maximizing Your Divinity.” I trust you are growing in grace and in your love towards others. I am a firm believer that the closer you get to God, the less you think of yourself, because the more you realize how imperfect you are. When you get to this point, the less judgmental you become and the more gracious you are towards others. Thinking about this led to me to think about forgiveness and how there are so many people in the Body of Christ who carry a root of bitterness in their hearts. When they do, the weight of unforgiveness stifles their growth in Christ and it limits the impact they can make in the world.
In Matthew 18 we find an interested question from Peter to Jesus. Since Peter was so meticulous he sought a mathematical formula for grace. Peter asked, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?” he asked Jesus. “Up to seven times?” Peter continued, erring on the side of generosity, because the rabbis of his day had suggested three as the maximum number of times one might be expected to forgive. I am sure some of us would like that rule today… “three strikes and you’re out!” would be our reply to a bothersome friend. However, Jesus did not approve of three or the seven, Jesus said, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven”. Jesus was not teaching us to keep a tally of wrongs done to us, only to expend our grace at 490 times. No, forgiveness, as Jesus implied, is not the kind of thing you keep track of and it cannot be earned. Forgiveness is given by grace and grace alone.
Peter’s question prompted Jesus to tell a story. Jesus told of a servant who somehow piled up a debt of several million dollars. The debt was so large that it was almost too large to imagine, but that actually underscores Jesus’ point. It was clear that the man could not pay the debt. Nevertheless the king, who owned the debt, was moved with compassion and he abruptly canceled the debt, letting the servant off scot-free. If Jesus’ story ended there it would have been good enough. However, the story took an unexpected twist when servant, who had just been forgiven of this immensely large debt, ran into someone who owed him a few dollars. You would think that a man who had been forgiven of so much would simply forgive his brother, but that was not the case. The forgiven man took the man who owed him by the throat and he began to choke him, yelling “Pay back what you owe me!” This man was clearly an ingrate and he represents those who do not understand grace. The king in the story represents God and what God has done for us. C. S. Lewis said the following about this, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few quick things:
1. Recipients of grace are expected to become extenders of grace.
2. Forgiven people are to forgive people. The more you realize how much God has forgiven you; the more you should be inclined to forgive others.
3. The more you grow in Christ the less you think of yourself and the more grateful you become of the God in you.
4. Judgmental Christians are showing how immature they are in Christ, because the more you mature in Christ the more you realize the fact that you are only saved by grace.
5. The more you realize that God’s power can only flow through you when you minimize yourself, and you know that only happens when you accept the grace of God, the more apt you will be to minimize the faults in others and to accept them by grace.
Closing Confession: Father, like the man in the story today I realize that I had a debt I could not pay. Jesus willingly paid the price I could not pay for a debt He did not owe. However, unlike the man in the story I will not be an ingrate. I appreciate Your grace towards me and I will allow Your grace to flow through me, towards others. Since I have been forgiven of much I will forgive much. Since I have received grace, I will become a conduit of grace. Since You have forgiven the inexcusable in me, I will, through Your love, forgive the inexcusable in others. And the more I walk with You the more I realize how much I need Your grace. I will never look down on someone else – for his or her flaws or failures – because I now realize how much I have failed and how much I need Your grace. Thank You Father for extending Your grace to me and since Your grace has come TO me, I now ask You to flow Your grace THROUGH me! As it does, as You flow through me and touch others, I will become the conduit of Your love, light and power, in a world that needs to see Your light, feel Your love, and experience Your power. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
