Uncommon Forgiveness

Having recently finished my coursework at Phoenix Seminary, I have been thinking about God's unparalleled grace. Each of us can recount numerous times God has intervened in our lives and shown us mercy. As humans we have the tendency to berate others for their mistakes and shortcomings while we overlook the same faults in ourselves. How many times have I been angry at someone for a driving mistake? Probably as many times as I have expected mercy from other drivers whom I have cut off. Wouldn't it be wonderful to view our obligation toward others through the lens of divine grace?

In the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt 18:23-25), Jesus spoke of a servant who owed a debt too large to be repaid. When the servant's creditor, his master, forgave the debt, the liberated servant proceeded immediately to demand repayment for a debt he himself was owed. This debt was infintesmal compared to the debt the servant had been forgiven, but was nonetheless substantial. The forgiven servant was owed one hundred denarii, the equivalent of several thousand dollars. When the servant's debtor begged for mercy in repaying the debt, the unforgiving servant refused to extend it. The master, upon hearing about this action, revoked his earlier act of mercy and had the unforgiving servant thrown into jail until he could pay back what he had owed. This amounted to nothing less than a life sentence.

If God, our Master, expressed such anger at the unforgiving servant's misdeed, we need to examine our hearts with trembling. On one level the unforgiving servant's actions are unthinkable, but don't we do the same thing he did? It has been much overlooked that the unforgiving servant was himself owed a substantial amount of money. Our sins are often worse, because we strike out at those who owe us a few dollars, whether literally or figuratively. Thanks be to God for his forgiveness even of this insolence, if we will come to him humbly and admit our wrongdoing.