Matthew 18:21-22
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.“
Matthew 18:21-22 NIV
Like so many of us do, Peter wants to know the limits of the Lord's demand for radical forgiveness. While by human standards Peter's seven times principle is quite generous, to even ask for a limit to forgiveness in Jesus Kingdom is to reveal that a person's mind is still dominated by worldly thinking. Heavenly thinking means going to a cross and forgiving your crucifixion executioners.
Jesus takes the heavenly number of seven and multiplies it by a number that is much greater, not to give an actual numerical limit but to stress that we are to forgive as we have been forgiven and want to be forgiven. In the Father's Kingdom family, the children must forgive like the Father.
So often we read commands to follow when we hear Jesus speak. And our response can be I can’t do that, that’s too hard, that’s not me. For some of us, we have been so hurt, so often, that there is no way we can forgive. But God is not giving commands to follow, we need to hear with fresh eyes. When God calls us to do something, He is only calling us to be our true selves. It’s not a command as such but an understanding of who we are.
When He calls us to forgive as many times as forgiveness is required, we are not hearing a direction but we are hearing God sharing His character and hence, as we are made in His image, He is showing us our true selves. We were created as one who forgives continually without end. It’s not a command to follow in order to get God’s approval or acceptance, it’s a reality check on who we were created to be.
When we don’t forgive we’re not being true to ourselves or our creator. When I know that I am divine-human, I am like God in character, then His calls become a call to be me. In the call to forgive I also see clearly that God is a God who forgives me as often as forgiveness is required. He doesn’t ask me to be anything that He is not.
So God forgives us as often as we require forgiveness. Now that is brilliant news for us, we require its application continually. And it is only from our personal intimate progressive revelation and encounter of personal forgiveness are we shaped to be forgiving people. It is from the reflection of God that we become the true reflection of ourselves.
It’s not a command we understand and obediently follow, that only gets you so far. It’s a personal experience we reflect on and understand as being our true self. Can you sense the incredible difference here? We rebel against commands, we rejoice in being self. There is nothing more personally beautiful and freeing than being able to be truly me, the made in the image of God me.
We will know who we are and walk in that skin. We will enjoy the beauty of never-ending forgiveness and be shaped into our true selves by our personal pleasure experience. We will live postured in never-ending forgiveness to those around us not as a command to obey but as an experience we reflect on and a sense of self. We will live in the freedom and beauty of being true self forgiving!!!
Father, thank You for this day and the beauty of it and the breathe of life. Lord, let Your abundant blessings fall on my friend and family today. Lord, thank You that You only ever call us to be what You created us to be. You never have commands to be obediently obeyed with the motivation of reward and punishment. You only show us Yourself that we may walk in personal intimacy of knowing You and discovering us in that encounter. Lord, use us to be Your hands and feet today.
Father, we love You. Amen !
Comentarios