Disciples follow Jesus' Mission to Proclaim Forgiveness
Any time you mess up and the offended party willingly forgives you, that is good news (enabling poor behavior notwithstanding). The greatest version of that good news is what Christianity calls the gospel, an English word that means “good story”. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all speak about the same good news: God Himself, the One offended by our sins, has chosen to willingly forgive us through sacrificial work of His own Son Jesus. The Apostle Paul says it this way,
2 Corinthians 2:18-19
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was
reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s
sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.
Notice that the work of reconciling is from God, the conduit is Jesus, and the ministry is ours. The Gospel has been committed to Jesus’ followers to spread this ministry of reconciliation in Jesus’ name. Join Matthew, Mark, Luke John, and Paul in the mission.
Luke 17:4
Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
~ Jesus
Pondering Point
As people come and go in our lives there will be times when we get hurt by them. There will also be times when we do the hurting. Apologies (i.e. repenting) should readily go either way whenever offenses occur.
Jesus is telling us that if someone sins against you seven times in one day but comes back saying "I'm sorry" you are to forgive them. Now as you read this, don’t get caught up in trying to determine whether the person Jesus describes is truly sorry. Let Jesus’ words equate to authentic repentance.
Repentance is to always be met with forgiveness – at least for the followers of Jesus. The mindset of any Christian going into every relationship is "I will be a person of forgiveness". This makes you like Jesus while following Him as you come and go.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I appreciate the reminder to forgive others – early and often. Help me practice what you preached (and be ready to “preach” about why I practice such forgiveness). In Your name I pray this. Amen.