Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV)
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Forgiveness hurts. The one forgiving feels as if they suffer a loss. And in fact, there is a loss involved. Jesus used money to help explain the principle of forgiveness. A king was owed 10,000 talents. In today's economy, gold is about $1,100 per ounce. There are 7,196 ounces in 10,000 talents, thus making what this man owed $7,915,600.00.
I have debt, but not $8 million worth.
In that Bible parable, the man who owed that debt would never be able to repay it. I fall into that category too. And not just economically. I owed that type of impossible debt to the Lord as well. My sin was an $8 million mess. But God specializes in making miracles out of messes.
However, it hurts to forgive. Just as Jesus. Forgiveness is a matter of life and death.
I could not repay the debt I owed for my sin. I had to file spiritual bankruptcy. I had nowhere to turn. No one would take a chance on the loser I was.
Except God!
He chose to forgive, knowing that I would never be able to repay the debt I owed. He took a loss on the transaction. It cost Him His life. And the most amazing part of it all is that He did for me while I was yet a sinner! There is no way I can get good enough to get God. I had to get God in order to become good.
In the same Bible account, the king forgives the man of his 10,000 talents ($8 million). He clears the books, takes the loss, and releases the man from the debt. That's powerful. That's what it feels like when we repent, knowing that we are hopeless and helpless, and God forgives. That's why repenting brings such a feeling of release and relief. A load has been lifted.
But instead of this man passing on the blessing to others, he goes out and immediately finds someone who owes him 100 pence. A pence is a penny and was a days wage for the common man. In other words, this forgiven man was owed one hundred pennies. If you do minimum wage for 100 days to bring this to modern economy, it is less than $6,000 that he was owed.
Let's look at the math. This unnamed servant owes nearly $8 million and after begging for his life and the life of his family, he is forgiven. In one compelling word, the king takes the loss and allows the man to leave free of the debt. This same man is owed less than $6,000 and DOES NOT forgive as he has just been forgiven!
The king hears about this and brings back this unforgiving man. He calls him a wicked servant. And then he puts back on him the $8 million he owed originally and casts the man into prison.
This parable ends with a very life and death reality when Jesus says, "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." Matthew 18:35 (KJV)
Forgiveness is a life and death matter. I don't deny that it hurts to forgive. I know it hurts. It hurt my Lord to forgive me - it hurt Him so much, He died. In fact, He died of a broken heart literally. The only way for blood and water to flow is if the heart is broken.
Yes, it might hurt me to take a $6,000 loss. Sure, there are those who have offended me, hurt me, said all manner of evil against me, betrayed me, lied about me, and the list could keep on going. But I would have to forgive 1,334 of them before I could equal the $8 million Jesus forgave me of originally.
I say originally, because I've not been perfect since He first forgave me. I've had to repent since then, in fact, like Paul, I now die daily. So, the reality is I could never forgive enough to equal what He has forgiven me of.
Eternity hinges on forgiveness. Will you allow a $6,000 dispute between you and your brother to keep you from heaven? I won't.
Let's learn from the Greatest - Jesus Christ - and let's forgive others as we have been forgiven.
