Seventy Times Seven

I'm so sorry ... can you please forgive me? Ever said those words? Ever heard those words? I have, on both counts. And as much as it pains me to say it, I've had to offer an apology far more times than I've had to accept one. Think about that last sentence for a moment ... I've had to say I was sorry and ask for forgiveness far more often than I've had to hear someone apologize to me and ask me to forgive them. If ever there was a sentence ... a thought ... a moment ... that could and should bring about some self-analysis, that one would be it.

On those rare occasions when I am on the receiving end of an apology (translated ... the few times when I'm not the one who goofs things up royally), I always feel awkward, out of place, like I should just kick the dirt under my shoe and look down at the ground and say, "Awww, shucks, it's OK. No apology necessary." Funny, though, when I'm the one doing the apologizing, I want the other person to feel my pain, to really listen to me, to appreciate the sincerity and depth of my remorse, to forgive me so that I am absolved of my guilt and able to move forward.

I've been doing a lot of pondering about forgiveness lately ... about what it means to forgive another person, about what it means to be forgiven by someone, about what it means to be forgiven by God, about what it means to forgive myself. And in that pondering, I've come to realize that it's not hard for me to forgive another person when I feel their apology is sincere ... key words being "I feel." While I can come up with all kinds of "reasons" for only forgiving another when I deem the person worthy, none of them even begin to measure up to the standard set for me in God's Word.

In Matthew 18, Peter comes to Jesus and asks how many times he needs to forgive someone who has wronged him. Good old Peter thinks he's going the extra mile by asking Jesus if seven times to forgive is good enough. Can you imagine how shocked Peter was when Jesus says, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

I'm pretty sure that Jesus wasn't saying Peter needed to count how many times he forgave and stop at 491. I think he was making the point to Peter that our forgiveness of others should far exceed the customary level of forgiveness, that it should be boundless, limitless and unconditional. I think Jesus was saying to forgive and forgive and forgive and then forgive again.

So my prayer tonight? That you would teach me, Lord, all over again, that Your forgiveness has no timeline, no boundaries, no limits, no conditions, no fee, no ceiling. That I would remember that because I am forgiven by You, I must forgive others ... not once, not twice, but seventy times seven.