The Gift That Keeps On Giving

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15

As we begin a new year, let's give the gift that keeps on giving all year long - forgiveness!

Let me tell you about a Montana man, Walter Breuning, who is the world's oldest man. He recently celebrated his 114th birthday.

Walter was born on Sept. 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minnesota, and moved to Montana in 1918, where he worked as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway for 50 years. He was asked, “What is the secret to a long life?” To that he responded, “Don't forget to forgive along the way; it's the balm that soothes the soul.”

Why is his statement such good wisdom? Because…Forgiveness is our highest need from God

and our greatest seed for others.

We need our sins forgiven by God in order to experience a healthy relationship with our heavenly Father, but at the same time we must plant the seeds of forgiveness into the lives of those who have hurt us. Let’s face it, we don’t live in a perfect world, and until we are in heaven we will have to overcome offenses, hurt feelings and bad experiences that linger in our minds on a daily basis.

I think Peter was bold enough to ask for all of us, “Lord, how many times do I forgive?” He was really asking “What’s the limit – about 7 times?” He knew that according to rabbinical law you can give the person 3 strikes and after that you can fire bomb their house!

In verse 22, “70 times 7” – what a mind blower! Remember I mentioned that 7 is the number for perfection and 10 is the number for completion - so to a Jew, perfection multiplied by completion was infinity!

So is the limit 490 times? No! Simply put, if you can forgive 490 times, forgiveness is now a healthy habit! So think about it this way, forgiveness is a great habit that releases hatred! In reality Jesus is saying, forgiveness is a perfect act that brings completion and closure to an area of life!

So maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “How did Jesus arrive at this incredible equation?” Easy, Peter was appealing to the law and Jesus was appealing to love – so forgiveness has nothing to do with the law, but everything to do with love! This is because the law has limits and love has no limits!

Now in our opening verses above, how does this tie into this? First, Jesus is not saying to his disciples (and to us) that there comes a time when God stops forgiving our sins! If we are a child of God, you are covered by the blood of Jesus that continues to cleanse us. So to misinterpret Matthew 6:14, 15, it will mess up your theology of God.

I suggest to you that there is a better way to understand Jesus’ words. He was powerfully teaching that the day we no longer experience forgiving others the wrongs done to us, that’s the day we stop experiencing God’s forgiveness of our own sins!

The key word is “experience” – it’s one thing to express that you are forgiven; but it is a whole other matter to experience forgiveness in our daily walk with Him! We need to desperately experience His forgiveness every day because out of our thankfulness and gratitude we extend forgiveness to others! Never dismiss this point because that’s when we are more forgiving of ourselves!

“Let’s go to Calvary to learn how we may be forgiven,

then let’s linger there to learn how to forgive.” 

Charles Spurgeon

So I remind all of us as we start a New Year together, every day we are starting out with a fresh slate or a full slate in our relationships – which describes you today!

Forgiving Together,

Pastor Dave