Living in the Spirit
September 24, 2023
Scripture Reading:
Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. –Matthew 18:21-22
What does it mean to forgive? When I looked it up in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary*, I was surprised to see that the examples given were Biblical quotes.
Forgive means:
- to cease to feel resentment against on account of wrong committed: give up claim to requital from or retribution upon (an offender): absolve, pardon
<Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing — Luke 23:34 (New Catholic Edition)>
- to give up resentment of or claim to requital for (an offense or wrong): remit the penalty of
<and their sins should be forgiven them — Mark 4:12 (King James Version)
The Greek word aphiémi translated as forgive in the above scripture, means to send away; release (discharge) to let it go**.
Forgiving someone is as much or more about ourselves as it is the person we are forgiving. Can we let go of whatever causes the need for forgiveness? I once worked with someone I considered a friend besides being a coworker, but for no reason that I could ascertain, she withdrew from me. I had no idea what was wrong and went to her to ascertain what had caused the breach between us, tears came into her eyes as she said there was nothing wrong, and she dismissed me. This situation did not impact our work production, but our relationship was broken. Over a year later, she walked into my office, sat on the edge of the chair that was in front of my desk, and said, “I just discovered that someone told me a terrible lie about something they said you had done, and it hurt me deeply. I am sorry, I should have realized it was not true.” She never told me what she was told or who told her. I said I knew something was wrong and was sorry we had not worked it out earlier. Shortly after that conversation, she changed jobs, and I lost contact. I hope and pray that she was able to let it go.
Prayer: Lord, heal our brokenness in relationships and do not let them hinder our working together to build your beloved community. Amen.
*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Forgive
**https://biblehub.com/greek/863.htm
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.