Monday May 15th, 2023
Meditate on: Luke 7:47 NLT
« I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.»
Read: Matthew 18:23-35 GNT
23 because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts.
24 He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.
25 The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt.
26 The servant fell on his knees before the king. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!’
27 The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.
28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars. He grabbed him and started choking him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.
29 His fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’
30 But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything.
32 So he called the servant in. ‘You worthless slave!’ he said. ‘I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to.
33 You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.’
34 The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.”
35 And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Understand:
Experience has shown that people who receive kindness from God and man sometimes turn out to be terrible tyrants.
Some people who were delivered from the jaws of death by God’s benevolence and mercy in the past have become takers of lives.
Such people forget that as recipients of God’s mercy, much more is expected from them.
They are like the wicked servant in today’s Bible reading; whose debt to his master was so great that the master knew there was no way he could pay it, and so forgave him out of compassion. In Matthew 18:28,CEV the Lord describes what this servant did after he was released from prison, saying:
« But as this official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him 100 silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, “Pay me what you owe! »
As if that was not enough, this wicked and inconsiderate man put his fellow servant in jail until he got his money back.
Some of us might cringe in horror at this awful attitude, but the question is, are we not doing the same thing against our fellow human beings, even in the household of faith?
Many of us would have died if God were to repay us according to our sins, but thank God for His mercies.
Are we however showing the same level of mercy to those we have authority over or within our sphere of influence?
Are we not seeking vengeance on those who have wronged us in one way or the other?
The story of what the wicked servant did got to the master and, in annoyance, he revoked the pardon he had given the wicked servant, casting him back into prison.
In Matthew 18:35NIV our Lord Jesus Christ concludes the story this way:
« “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” »
We became children of God when He forgave our sins. We should therefore not find it difficult to forgive those who offend us, knowing that if we had not been forgiven, we would have been in a sorry state.
Having been relieved of our heavy load of sin through forgiveness, let us also forgive at all times.
However, if you have not received forgiveness of your sins, it may be that you have not repented of them.
Repent today, and you will receive the joy of being forgiven.
Prayer point: Father, please grant me grace to show mercy to fellow human beings, especially at difficult times, and help me not to disappoint You in this regard.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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