The R.O.C.K. Club Wants You to Understand This Life-Changing Concept
Forgiveness is an ideal that is dear to the heart of God. The whole of our relationship with Him is the basis of His forgiveness and mercy to us. Forgiveness is an act of love toward the unlovely. We can all be very thankful that God is a forgiving God. And having His forgiveness, He wants us to be forgiving to others. This, sadly, is not the case for many of us, though. Here at
the R.O.C.K. Club in Radford, VA, we want you to understand this life-changing concept of forgiveness.
Forgiveness for the Servant, but He Won’t Forgive
We begin to teach our children about forgiveness at an early age. If someone knocks them down on the playground, we tell them to forgive them. But even as we teach them, there is a lot that we ourselves need to learn about forgiveness. In the Bible, Matthew 18:21-35 tells the story of Peter as he asks Jesus how many times he should forgive somebody. Jesus then recounts a parable about a servant whose boss forgave him from a sizable debt. That servant, however, refused to forgive another person who owed him, and this incurred his boss’s anger. Let’s take a closer look at the meaning behind Jesus’ parable.
God Forgives Us Through Jesus Christ
A parable is a story that Jesus told that always had a deeper lesson. As we look at it, let’s first consider the servant. This servant owed a sizable debt, a debt that he couldn’t pay. His boss was going to severely punish him for this, but the servant begged him for forgiveness. The Bible tells us that his boss was moved with compassion for him. Remember, forgiveness is an act of love for the unlovely. His boss forgave him.
We all play the role of the servant. We owe God a sizable debt. We were created to have a relationship with Him, but we walked away from Him through our sin. God is a loving God, but He is also a holy God and can’t tolerate sin. Our actions doomed us to an eternity without Him in a place of punishment for those sinful actions. But God loved us so much that he sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay our debt. Now, as we realize our sinful state, we can come to God and ask Him for forgiveness. And in love and compassion, He forgives us. We didn’t deserve it, but He did it.
We Should Forgive Others
As our Bible story continues, that same servant then refused to forgive another person who owed a debt to him. In fact, he got extremely violent with him and had him incarcerated in debtors’ prison. This made the servant’s boss extremely angry, and justifiably so. The servant was given a great gift of forgiveness, and he refused to extend it to someone else.
If we’ve been forgiven, God wants us to extend that same mercy to others. And if we’ve been forgiven for much, then we should forgive for much. It’s simple. God wants us to show the same mercy and compassion to others that He showed to us. A forgiven person should be a forgiving person.
Forgiveness Can Be Hard
Let’s be honest, though. Forgiveness can be very hard. In the Bible, Peter didn’t really want to forgive. He was looking for an excuse not to forgive. He asked Jesus how many times he was supposed to forgive the same person. Peter wanted a number of times after which he could stop. Jesus answered him, “Up to seventy times seven.” Now, in that answer, Jesus isn’t saying that we should actually count to 490 times. He was teaching Peter that forgiveness is a continuous process. When someone asks for forgiveness, we should forgive them.
But what if someone doesn’t ask for forgiveness? What if they don’t acknowledge that they did something wrong? Isn’t it impossible to extend forgiveness to someone who doesn’t want it? Let’s look at God’s example. God is ready to forgive us when we seek forgiveness from Him. We should do the same. We show love and mercy, and we must hold an attitude of forgiveness, even if the offender refuses to acknowledge the offense. This does two things. It prepares us in case they ever ask for forgiveness, and it frees our mind and heart from grudges and revenge. Forgiveness truly is a word that we and the entire world need today.
The R.O.C.K. Club in Radford, VA, offers outstanding and compassionate Christian child care and tutoring. We would love to tell you how you can have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Call us today at (540) 267-3000. Remember, God forgave our sins through Jesus, so let’s show forgiveness!
