This morning I felt led back to Luke 17, where I have recently been reflecting on forgiveness and faith( https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2019/09/forgive-now-faith-now.html) . I am back reflecting on these same verses, as clearly I have more to learn. :-)
Here are the verses - Luke 17:3-10 NIV:
[3] "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.' ”
My reflection begins with verse 5, and the apostles recognition that they needed more faith to forgive as Jesus was calling them to forgive (or maintain relationship with one another). As I read through this bit this morning, I felt like it had to do with trusting God alone, and not feeling like we need to receive some sort of reparations for someone's sin against us. Forgiveness essentially means sending away, and this case it is a sense of being owed payback, or we could say vengeance. We are called to forgive one another over and over and over again. Every time, it seems that we should be taking that sin and our woundedness and laying them at Jesus' feet, entrusting ourselves and our woundedness to Him, rather than holding on to it.
In many ways, this is modeling exactly how the Lord deals with us! We sin constantly, and He constantly is extending forgiveness. He has already paid for our sins, and has already borne upon His own body and soul the punishment we are all due. He cancelled that debt, and made a way for us to receive forgiveness, over and over and over again! In embracing the need to forgive one another and walking that out, we are representing His Kingdom principles to the world!
Secondly, although verses 7-10 seem to be a whole new teaching, I think they have to do with forgiveness as well. Sometimes, when we have been wounded, and come to a place of healing, extending forgiveness to someone who doesn't deserve forgiveness, we can think we have done something significant. True, for us it is significant, but in the light of Jesus' sacrifice and death, it is next to nothing! He has given us a new command - to Love one another, as He has loved us (John 13:34), and one of the ways He loved us was to extend forgiveness to us all. He encourages us to lay down our lives for one another, and that includes our woundedness, our unforgiveness, any past hurts, any wrongs that have been done to us! This is supposed to be our daily work, that which is expected of us, in the Kingdom.
Imagine if the church regularly practiced forgiveness like this and came to understand the need to extend forgiveness to all, how different a place it would be! If we demonstrated to each other forgiveness, repeatedly, blessing people, even those who hurt us, with no desire for judgment upon anyone!
Amen Lord, increase our Faith!
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