Matthew 18:32-35 (NIV) “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Jesus told the parable of the servant who owed his master millions of dollars and who as result, was in danger of having his family as well as himself sold to pay off the debt. The servant begged the master for more time to pay the debt off but as he was begging, the master had compassion on him and forgave his entire debt. The story goes on to tell us that this same servant then went to a fellow servant to collect a debt of a few thousand dollars. When the fellow servant begged him for more time, he refused and had this fellow servant thrown in jail. All the other servants saw what he did and knowing that he had been forgiven so much, they were outraged. So they went to tell the master what he had done. The passage of scripture above describes what happened next. This ungrateful, wicked servant desired mercy for himself but had no mercy to give to someone else and he had to pay the price for his merciless heart.

What is astounding and really sobering about this story is that this is really how God feels about anyone who has experienced His forgiveness and then refuses to forgive someone else. The Lord sees that as wickedness. God really gives us no wiggle room when it comes to forgiving one another. He commands it and expects us to forgive one another, based on the forgiveness that he has poured out on all of us. But the unfortunate truth is that many Christians don't take this to heart. Many born again believers give themselves permission to hold grudges against fellow believers and live in broken fellowship with them. Many are not even thinking of the prospect of forgiving the people who they feel have wronged them. But in light of what the passage of scripture above says, this is totally unacceptable to God. We don't have the right to refuse to forgive someone. You may wonder why the Lord is so adamant about it and it's because there is absolutely no good that comes from that kind of heart. Not only so, but unforgiveness pollutes the heart and gives fertile soil for a root of bitterness to grow. That root can destroy the person that refuses to forgive as well as contaminate others around them.

When it comes to forgiving others, we must be ready and in position to forgive anyone who wrongs us and offends us. Forgiveness is a choice based on what God commands and if we make the choice to honor God by practicing forgiveness, we will live a blessed life. You will also find that when you practice forgiveness, your life is less stressed, and peace seems to surround you. God has forgiven you and me of so many horrible sins. He refuses to even remember them. Let's always keep that in mind so that we will not hold back forgiveness from one another. We just don't have that right anymore. Thank you Jesus.

Pastor Joey Vazquez