Peter asked, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin
against me and I forgive him? Up to
seven times?” Jesus answered, “I do not
say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
My brothers were good
kids—we fought a lot over little stuff, like who should do the dishes, feed the
dogs or take out the trash. But I don’t recall anything over which I wouldn’t
have forgiven them. There may have been stuff that they didn’t want to forgive
me for…but they haven’t mentioned it to me. They certainly haven’t been keeping
track over the years, nor have I. I haven’t felt any sins against my Christian
brothers either---now there are a couple of people that I felt I just couldn’t
forgive, but it was only a few counts, not quite seven. Although it wasn’t
easy, over the years the Lord taught me to forgive those people for their
offenses against me.
The rabbis taught
that people needed to forgive three times, so Peter was being generous with the
“seven” times. Seventy times seven is 490. That’s a lot of forgiveness! I think I would lose track before I even got
to seven---so Jesus was really teaching that forgiveness is endless. You’d
think after a few times that the guy would get the picture and not sin against
his brother. Look at it from both brothers’ sides---the sinner and the one
sinned against. Get it together, guys. Stop sinning---but don’t stop forgiving.
Remember also that without that forgiveness bitterness creeps into one’s heart.
Bitterness is like swallowing poison expecting it to hurt someone else, and it
only hurts you. Bitterness can cause diseases. When I was in high school
psychology class I wrote a paper on “Emotions Effects on the Heart” and learned
that emotions, including anger, can make the heart vessels constrict, thus
increasing the blood pressure. So by getting rid of anger and bitterness,
through forgiveness, a person can be healthier. Even professionals at the Mayo
Clinic recognize the importance of forgiveness. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/forgiveness/MH00131
Lord—I forgive…. Help
me not to keep track, but to truly forgive with my whole heart. Please also
forgive me.
©
2011 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights
reserved.
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