Overview of: MatthewToday's Reading:
Matt. 18:21 – 19:12
"Forgiveness and Divorce"
Focus Verses: Mark 7:6-8, 13
32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'
Insight:
Our relationships with God and with others are deeply intertwined. In Matthew 6, on the heels of "The Lord's Prayer," Jesus says, "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." In 1 John 4:20-21, the Apostle John wrote, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
Response and Action:
If I truly understand and appreciate the forgiveness and grace God has extended to me through Christ, I will demonstrate it by extending forgiveness and grace to others. To refuse to forgive others is to refuse forgiveness from God. To harbor hate for others is to reject God's transforming and healing love for me. Forgiving others does not earn God's forgiveness; it proves that I have truly received it. Love and forgiveness for others does not earn God's grace, but God's grace, if it is truly received, will surely transform me and prove itself in the love and forgiveness I extend to others.
O Father, you fill the heavens and your name is holy and honored. I long to see your kingdom come to earth--your will lived out right here in my life just as it is in heaven. Provide for my needs today. Forgive my debt to you, which I cannot pay, and by the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, grant me the readiness and the heart to forgive others in the same way. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Old Testament for Today: 2 Chron. 7:14
14 "...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
In Context: 2 Chronicles 7
Proverb for Today: Prov. 9:10
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Recommended Reading:
Forgiving and Reconciling: Bridges to Wholeness and Hope
by Everett L. Worthington
