In Luke 17:3-4 it says-“If thy brother trespass against you, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him, and if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him.”
Jesus is talking to his disciples but he is in the home of a Pharisee and this goes on from chapter 14 through 17:10. At times he taught all, and at other times he was speaking only to his disciples. It is a much different account we see in Matthew 18:21-22.
Jesus is with his disciples talking to just them that Peter asked about the question of forgiveness again. Perhaps he was just wanting to hear it again and be sure he heard Jesus correctly before. But Jesus throws him a curve and says, “I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy time seven.”
Remember this statement Jesus just spoke to Peter was concerning what he had said before in previous teachings. Here Jesus was clarifying to his disciples the importance of forgiveness and what it really means to forgive. In Luke 17:3-4, it shows us that this takes place in a single day.
The word forgive is the Greek word-aphiemi- and it means to forsake, lay aside, leave or let alone, omit, put or send away, yield up; it is from the word apo, which means to separate, departure, cessation, reversal. It is up to us to do our part and let Him do his.
And we put ourselves under such a burden of condemnation when we ask forgiveness for the same sin we fall into on a semi frequent basis as humans. This is because we don’t stay close enough to the Lord and read his word which will correct and adjust our attitudes about sin.
One day is 24 hours or 1440 minutes. When you do the math for 24 hours you get 2.94 or every 3 minutes you have to forgive someone. If Jesus said this is for us, then do you think God will do anything less? When you got saved He knew what a problem you would be and He made each of us for a special purpose and time.
We are to relax and let Him finish the work He has started (Philippians 1:6). All we need to do is admit it, quit it, and forget it. Sometimes the hardest part is to forget it. But we are not responsible for cleaning ourselves up or anyone else for that matter. That job is already taken by the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is give God the only thing we can give that He will not take.
What is that? Our will, and it needs to be submitted to His will. Every petty habit and problem we have will be turned around for our good (Romans 8:28) if we only let Him continue to shape us into the image of His son Jesus Christ until He is satisfied.
We are His children and He loves us more than we can comprehend on this earth. Sometimes He smiles at us and at other times He cries for us and with us. Our tears must really touch His heart, for He keeps them in a bottle (Psalm 56:8) and writes them in a book.
Tears always touch the heart of a father. I know, and I wish I could have some of those tearful times to do over with my children. But that is a subject for another day. I will close for now and let you do your part as you learn to walk in forgiveness as a personal lifestyle as a born again child of the living God.
Remember you will make it, just don’t give up. See you next time as we study God’s word together.
In His Service As Kilted Priest
