Devotional:Forgive Without Limits:Matthew 18:21-22; Luke 17:3-4

“And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (Luke 17:4, NASB).

When I walked into the room, my wife Marilyn was watching a television program. A letter had been written by someone who had done some other people wrongly. In the letter the writer asked for forgiveness. One of the victims said that he would forgive, but he did not have any desire to have any relationship with the offender. One person said that she could not forgive. “There are some sins that cannot be forgiven,” she said. I remembered that this person was one of many who have voiced this same sentiment I thought about our scripture passages.

The first thing that we should notice in our scripture is that Jesus was talking to people that believed in Him. Jesus was teaching how a believer should treat his brother—another believer. Now, I have no way of knowing what the relationship between the person who said that some sins cannot be forgiven and God. Maybe the words of Jesus have no meaning to this person. However, those of us that believe in Jesus should live according to his teaching.

Those of us in the community of believers are to treat one who sins against us as if what they said or did will not be held against them. When Jesus said to Peter that he should forgive his brother seventy times seven, He meant that there should be not certain number of times. Our willingness to forgive should be so much that both the one who sins and the one that is sinned against can remain free of any ill feelings and hostilities that can become a wedge between us. Unforgiveness means being chained to the past and prevents us from moving forward. Unforgiveness means that we are not free to give aid or receive aid from another. God forgives us our sins because God will not allow our sins to stop Him from carrying out His purpose. God forgiveness is unlimited. We too should follow the pattern that the lord has set before us.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your unlimited forgiveness. Amen.