Forgiveness

Luke 17:3-10 (NIV)

So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 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.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. 7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

At first glance of these verses, it seems to suggest that forgiveness is supposed to be immediate and is not a process that you work through. In the Amplified bible, the word rebuke is said as "solemnly tell him so and reprove him"

Def. solemnly - gravely or somberly impressive; causing serious thoughts or a grave mood

Def. reprove - to criticize or correct, especially gently

Def. repent - to change the way you think about something | To feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent.

You may ask yourself, Lord, what am I supposed to do with the residual pain from the offenses my brother commits against me? There are offenses that hurt so deep, what do I do with that pain ?

The disciples asked God to increase their faith so that they can do these things. Jesus' answer is indicative of how our characters as Christians (Christ-like people) should be. We should not be slaves to our thoughts, our feelings or our way of doing things. We need to constantly remind ourselves that we are to live to serve God and not ourselves. Pleasing him in our actions and ultimately how we treat each other should reflect him.

The same faith it takes to believe in God is the same faith it takes to trust that He can comfort you no matter how deep an issue may be.

The same faith it takes to believe in God, to believe that He can do the impossible, is the same faith it takes to be able to forgive your brothers and sisters. How else can you forgive someone knowing that he/she might repeat the same offense in the future? If I trust that God got my back, then I should not be worried about future offenses because I know that God will comfort me no matter the pain that comes my way. I rely on him as my comforter.

This command reminds me of David. David's relationship is reflective of how our relationship with God should be. David fell from grace so many times, but God always took center stage in his victories. He never boasted to say 'I did' such and such. He always credited God for his victories… "God delivered my enemies into my hands...". He also always worshiped God through his circumstances.

Final thoughts: We are to forgive each other as God forgives us. Seek His presence in our life daily. Ask him to renew our spirit. God is love. If He is engraved in our hearts, our actions will automatically reflect his character.