Author’s note: If you are new to my blog and are interested in reading the 23.xx series, please first read the 23.01 through 23.09 in order to best get the idea of what I am attempting to communicate. They are built like chapters in a book, one building on the previous one. Consider the points made in each article to help you understand where I am coming from in hopes I can make a connection with you on your spiritual journey.
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“Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.”
The Lord’s Prayer is a source of comfort and a framework for connecting with God. The above detail is asking God to forgive us for our debts [or sins or tresspasses], yet we have the verse’s conditional ending to contend with “… as we have forgiven others for their debts [or sins or tresspasses].”
An illustration of the condition and its consequences can be found in Matthew 18:21-35, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
Within that passage, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words, “…the Kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought before him who owed him ten thousand talents…”
“…But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment had been made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ SO his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay his debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved , and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
“So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
The amount the servant owed his fellow servant was modest compared to the remarkably huge sum owed the master. One talent may be comparable to a year’s wages.
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REFLECT FOR SELF-AWARENESS
As human beings, we often tend to view someone else’s wrong more gravely than our own.
Have you ever been relieved of a huge amount of debt you were unable to pay? How liberating was that?
What if you were found guilty of a crime and the punishment was death? How would you feel if you were then judged completely innocent, your record cleansed, and your life redeemed?
Would being relieved of an insurmountable debt change your life? Would you lead a life of gratitude as a result? How would your attitude towards others’ debt to you change?
A Christian should understand what it means to be forgiven a debt he owes, a debt that could never be satisfied through his own effort.
Christians live with an eternal sense of freedom because of the reality of God’s enduring mercy and forgiveness. Free is what a Christian is, free from eternal wrath made possible by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Freedom awaits all who choose to trust their life to this divine solution.
This is why forgiveness is part of the spiritual makeup of a true Christian. Like a servant whom the master had compassion on, we should have a propensity for forgiveness because we have been forgiven much.
CKY
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