Rembrandt – Prodigal Son
Forgiveness is a tough work. It’s a Christ-like trait and a trait Christ told us to have.
To not exercise forgiveness so that it comes easy and a way of life, to not give someone another chance every time they ask is to test the grace that God has shown us.
The Master Teacher shows us this in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. (Matthew 18:21-35) Here he compares God’s forgiveness of insurmountable debt to how we treat relatively insignificant debt. Here’s the takeaway Jesus intended:
- In the same way that God is forgiving, he expects that from us (Matthew 18:33)
- A lack of mercy is considered wicked (Matthew 18:32)
- If we fail to offer mercy like God did, we can lose it (Matthew 18:35)
This isn’t just some command that God gave without demonstrating it himself. We can see throughout the Old Testament how quick he is to forgive his children. Literally every time they fell away he took them back – just for the asking.
That’s why God’s kingdom is such a good place to be.
Daily Bible reading for July 9
Ecclesiastes 5:8-17
Joshua 7
Jeremiah 2:1-3:5
Matthew 18
July 9, 2013
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