Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant,

even as I had pity on thee? Matthew 18:33

            Compassion: we all want it but we don’t all extend it. Jesus has used a parable in response to Peter asking how often he should forgive someone who wrongs him. 

           You may think Peter dozed off when Jesus was preaching and got to the lesson on how to pray. But look more closely. The Lord’s Prayer talks about forgiving sins and Peter asks about forgiving his brother. Two different issues: many people may sin against you or one person may sin against you many times. Bottom line in each though is to forgive as you have been forgiven.

         Do you know how much you’ve been forgiven? You’re not going to want to hear this but we nailed Jesus to the cross with our sins. And those were not little picture hanging nails. They were the size of railroad spikes. Yet, He forgave us. Actually He asked His Father to forgive us which, if you think about it is an even bigger deal. Brutal death hurts the victim for a short time but the victim’s family has an inconsolable pain for the rest of their lives.

         Forgiveness does not mean you have to be buddy-buddy with the person, especially if it’s someone who has repeatedly wronged you. It is more for your benefit since a spirit of unforgiveness can harm you. When you let go of a grudge you can grab hold of the gifts God has to give you. Unforgiveness is like acid: corroding the vessel it’s stored in.

      If the servant had only followed the example set before him by the gracious king. We need to follow the example of The King to stay out of the jail of unforgiveness.