Forgiving Others

Wednesday, March 11th, 2026

4:39 am

Good morning! This morning I am in Matthew 18:21-35. Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who has sinned against him, 7 times? Jesus said no, seventy times seven times. Then He told them that the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a King that forgives his servant of all his debts, which was a very large sum, because the servant begged him for more time. When the king let the servant go, the servant went to one of his fellow servants, that owned him money, and grabbed him by the throat and demanded he pay him all he owed him in that moment. The fellow servant begged him for more time, just like he had begged the king. But instead of forgiving him of the debt, he threw the fellow servant into prison until he could pay back the full amount. The other servants saw this, and were very upset, so they went and told the king what the man had done. The king called the servant that he had forgiven back in, and said,"You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?" Then the angry king threw the man into prison to be tortured until he could pay back the entire debt. Jesus tells them that, that is what His heavenly Father will do to them if they refuse to forgive their brother and sisters from their heart.

When we turn to God, we beg Him to forgive us of our sins. And He does. He forgives us of all our sins. When He does, He expects us to turn away from those sins, not carry on with them. He also expects us to forgive others. That same forgiveness that He gives to us, He expects for us to do for those who ask us for forgiveness. He does not want us to keep track of how many times we forgive, just like He doesn't for us. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, repent, and ask Him for forgiveness, He cleanses us from our past, and remembers the sin no more. But we must repent and turn away from those sins. If we don't stop the sin, it shows that we are not truly repentant. Yes, it can be extremely hard to forgive people, especially if they have hurt you deeply, but we must forgive. When we don't, we will be stuck in the sin of bitterness and anger, that ultimately destroys our hearts. And causes us to disobey God's command to love each other.

If God forgave you of all your sins, then you should forgive others. God can help you with that. He does not want you to be stuck in bitterness and anger. He wants you to share His love with everyone, including those who sin against you. Forgiveness helps us move past our past, and step into the future that God has for us. He has got so much more for us. Walk in His love and forgiveness today, and allow Him to help you walk out that forgiveness with others. He will help you.