“Then Peter came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven.’” (Matthew 18:21-22 NLT)
The number seven in the Bible symbolizes completion, perfection, and divine order. When Peter asked Jesus if he could forgive someone seven times, in his mind he must have been thinking: “Surely, that should be enough!” But when Jesus responded “seventy times seven” the clear implication to Peter, and to us, is infinity…no end to our forgiveness of another, just as there’s no end of the Lord’s forgiveness of us.
How many times have you asked the Lord to forgive you? Yeh, I thought so. Me, too. That’s why we can’t be restrictive when we forgive someone else. However, there are some things forgiveness doesn’t mean. The first issue is, who has sinned against us? Who do we need to forgive? A friend? A stranger? An acquaintance? And please understand, they may never ask to be forgiven, but as a Jesus follower, we must forgive. But why? Because our forgiveness is dependent upon our forgiveness of another. How do I know that? As we saw in Matthew 6 in yesterday’s post: “…if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
We forgive in order to be forgiven, not because the one who sins against us deserves forgiveness. Friendships aren’t necessarily healed when we forgive; accounts aren’t automatically paid in full when we forgive; wounds aren’t automatically healed when we forgive; our hearts and minds aren’t freed from the pain of the tragedy or transgression because we forgive.
Forgiveness isn’t a cure-all for what ails us emotionally, but it’s a vital step in the right direction. John Irving reminds us: “The man who refuses to forgive destroys the bridge over which he himself must cross.” We don’t forgive to let anyone but ourselves off the proverbial “hook”. Forgiveness keeps the lines of communication open with the Lord, which is vital, not necessarily with the one who sins against us. When someone wrongs us, sometimes the best and only thing to do is to walk away.
Obviously, in a marriage or business relationship, it depends on the specific circumstance or situation, but forgiveness is always the first order of business. Healing often can mend a relationship to be stronger than ever if both parties are willing to own their part in the situation and seek ways to make things right. But if one or both aren’t willing to work to make it better and to allow healing, it’s an uphill battle that may not be worth fighting.
One thing we cannot, under any circumstance do, is take matters into our own hands. Retribution is clearly not in line with God’s will for us. Paul writes in Romans 12:19: “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord.”
Someone said “Unforgiveness is like drinking a glass of poison and expecting the other person to die.” It’s spiritual suicide! Forgiveness is our willingness to let go of the offense and commit it into the care of the Lord. We should follow the example of John and Sharon Echaniz who are the parents who publicly forgave the man who murdered their 23‑year‑old son, Michael Echaniz, in March 2022.
At Mathew Wiessing’s 2024 sentencing, the man who murdered their son, the victim’s father, John delivered a victim impact statement in which he said, “I forgive you for what you’ve done. I earnestly desire for you to be with Michael, my son, in paradise one day. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.” Sharon, the victim’s mother, also wrote, “I want you to know, Mathew Wiessing, that despite all this, I forgive you. I wish no evil upon you”
Forgiveness at its heart is caring more for the spiritual wellbeing of another than our own healing from the offense. It’s only possible by an act of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 