‘“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”’ Matthew 18:28-35(NLT)
Thoughts on the message
This is part two—God’s response when we do not forgive.
What does unforgiveness cost us?
The man refused to forgive his brother. So the king took back his forgiveness for the man and his debt.
How can God do the same to us—as Jesus said will happen in verse 35?
Well it is not that God takes it back—the man never took it. He said he received it with his mouth, but it did not change his actions. Forgiveness must change our hearts—or we have not received it. Without God’s forgiveness changing our heart, God says we do not receive it. He can withdraw the offer of forgiveness at any time then. That is what the king did.
That is what God does too. So let God’s forgiveness change your heart.
Unforgiveness is very expensive.
Prayer
Father, I need You to change not just my words or my actions. I need You to change my heart. Without a heart transformation I am still stuck in my failures, my debt, my brokenness and my sin. Father, I see it all around me in people—in good people. They say they forgive, and then they show an unforgiving heart to others. I never want to respond that way. So help me today with everyone I face who needs forgiveness. Help me to continue forgiving when they do it 77 times. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
from Forgiveness & Marriage—Disciple Makers Series #19