If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?

Peter probably didn’t ask this question out of idle curiosity.   Something Jesus said or some incident provoked Peter to ask about the boundaries of forgiveness.

It’s amazing how many angry or resentful thoughts against people are able to bounce around in our heads.   It’s not that we like having these negative thoughts.   But we may not know how to get free of them, or we may not be ready to forgive.

When Peter asked Jesus, “How many times must I forgive?”   Jesus basically said, “Every time.”   He said that we have to be like our Father, who never stops offering us his mercy.

To illustrate this point, Jesus told a parable about an unforgiving servant.   This man, who was forgiven a large debt, was unwilling to forgive a very small debt from his fellow servant.   That’s why the master asked him, “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?”.

According to the logic of love, forgiveness ought to breed forgiveness, and mercy ought to breed mercy.   But this unforgiving servant followed his own self-centered logic.   He believed that mercy received had nothing to do with mercy given.

God is asking us to be merciful to each other.   That’s easy to say, but it can be hard to do.   We should be able to let go, at least of the smaller hurts of life.   Let’s not let petty pride get the better of us.   Let’s forgive instead.

When it comes to larger hurts, it can be difficult if not impossible to forgive completely.   But here are four simple steps we can take that may help us: first, thank Jesus for being so merciful to you.   Second, tell Jesus that you want to forgive the one who hurt you, but that it hurts too much to forgive just now.   Third, know that Jesus is with you.   He knows how much you are hurting.   He understands.   He still loves you.   Finally, ask Jesus for the grace to forgive over time.

Sometimes the deep hurts of life can take months or years to be healed.   Jesus knows this, and he understands.   He is infinitely patient, just as he is infinitely generous with his own grace and mercy.

Word Among Us