Excuse You!

Excuse You!
When growing up, do you think you were a rule follower or a rule tester? How about today? Can you think of specific examples?
Have you had an experience where it was hard to forgive someone? Or hard to receive forgiveness from someone? Often, speaking the words is much easier than embracing them or accepting forgiveness.
We mostly understand the concept of forgiveness, but we want to impose parameters on it. What do you think of the following statements? Agree or disagree?

• I can forgive but I will not forget.
• Show me you are really sorry about what you did, first.
• You don’t deserve my forgiveness.
• I worry if God really does forgive me.

In the second of the Hobbit movie trilogy, when his kingdom was defeated and his neighbor army refused to come to his aid, it is said of the leader of the dwarf kingdom, “And he never forgave and he never forgot.” What are the challenges of this statement?
You can watch a 4-minute clip here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgpkhfCy0A4

One day Jesus was talking to his disciples and Peter asked a very astute question about forgiveness. Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
That is not what Peter was expecting! He thought he was being generous offering up to seven times. Seventy-seven times seems impossible to even keep track of! That was exactly Jesus’ point.

Jesus went on to tell a story about a master who was owed a great deal of money by one of his servants. Because the servant couldn’t pay, the master was going to take all the servant’s possessions and sell them. The master was even going to sell the servant, his wife, and family. The servant fell to his knees and asked the king to be patient. The master took pity on him and went above and beyond: He canceled the debt and let him go.

Don’t you love happy endings? Mercy was extended, and the servant was forgiven his debt! How grateful he must have been! Well, not exactly. It seems the servant was owed a little money from a fellow servant. He found him, grabbed him and began to choke him saying, “Pay back what you owe me!” The fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.”
But he refused. Instead, he had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. What? How dare he not extend a little forgiveness after he had just received so much! The story is still not over. Onlookers reported the incident to the master, and he was not happy! He rescinded his gracious offer and had the servant thrown into jail. No happy ending, but still more to the story.
Jesus was illustrating how gracious and forgiving God is toward us. We could never repay Him for all He has done for us, and we can’t even keep track of all the times we have sinned against God. How could God possibly continue to extend his forgiveness? He does because He loves us so much! But Jesus points out that because of God’s love and generosity, we should also be forgiving of those that hurt us.
That is easier said than done. In our humanness we harbor resentment, anger, and condemnation of those by whom we have been hurt or mistreated. How dare they? Why should I forgive? Because God forgave us.
You can read the entire account at Matthew 18:21-35

4832 Ponderings:

•  What does the person who forgives stand to lose? Gain?
• What does the person who does not forgive stand to lose? Gain?
• With whom do you think Jesus wants us to identify in the story?
• How did you react to the servant who showed no mercy?
• Complete this sentence if you can: “I acted like the servant when I …”
• Do you think forgiveness is highly valued in our culture?

Prayer:
Dear Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord, even though our lives contain embarrassing and serious sin, Your grace overflows for us with the faith and love that are in You. We acknowledge that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.” But as You extend Your mercy, let us be an example of Your utmost patience to those who would come to believe in You for eternal life. Now to You the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
adapted from 1 Timothy 1:12-17