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21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. - Matthew 18:21-22
I was pulling open the drawer to grab a ratchet when suddenly there was a loud crash. The post driver that was tucked way between the tool chest and the garage wall came crashing down. Unfortunately, my bare toe was there to break it’s fall. The pain was excruciating. It felt like a hole had been punched right through my foot. Thankfully, nothing was broken, but even a week later my toe will remind me of the pain.
Our hurts have a way of lingering around. Old wounds and past hurts can continue to plague us, preventing us from enjoying life to the fullest. Whether we are talking about a physical wound, or maybe an emotional wound, sometimes the pain can be so great we wonder how we might ever move past this. Will we always carry these scars?
Some hurts certainly will leave their mark on our lives, but that doesn’t mean we have to keep living with the pain. In our key text this week, Jesus is asked the question we all wrestle with, "how many times must I forgive?" Jesus’ answer would have been shocking. His point is that it isn’t the number of times that is important, but modeling the same kind of grace and forgiveness we have received.
But when we are the ones who have been hurt, extending grace to others is not easy to do. In his book, Grace is Greater, Kyle Idlemann identifies three levels of forgiveness. The first level of forgiveness involves making the choice to forgive. It is a willingness to get rid of all anger and bitterness. It’s deciding we are no longer going to live with feelings of resentment and animosity over something that was said or done to us in the past. Level two forgiveness is all about releasing the one who has hurt us. It involves choosing to write off the debt. Level three forgiveness is a willingness to be reconciled with the one who has hurt us. But what if there is no repentance? What if reconciliation is not an option? - Then there is level 2.5 forgiveness, a willingness to release the other person even if reconciliation isn’t an option.
We all have scars from our past, but that doesn’t mean we have to keep living with the pain. God’s grace is the key to redeeming our pain and helping us move forward towards the life God intends for us. Join us Sunday as we discover a grace greater than our hurts.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Gordon
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