Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
Luke 17:3-10
When Jesus commanded His disciples to forgive completely in an unending way they asked Him to increase their faith. His response was to tell them that this was not an issue of faith but of obedience. He told them they needed only the tiniest amount of faith for that. He told them a parable that put them in the master role. Even though the servants had been working hard all day they as masters would not have cu them any slack at supper time. They would have still required the servants to serve the master first. The master would not have considered it above their duty to feed him before they ate. Even after all of that they would have recognized that the master had paid more for them than what they were worth and their service would not have been a matter of pride – it was only what was expected of them.
Forgiveness is like that. It is only another service to the Master in the Kingdom. It is simply serving Him first and then us. Forgiveness requires no great act of faith. It requires us to realize that the price the Master paid for us means we have no excuses for disobedience. Whatever service we give Him, including forgiving those who owe us, pales next to the cost our lives required of Him. We need to forgive with the same attitude as setting the table for the Master. On the scale of cost He has laid out with His unending life they are both the same.
I am a slave that will never be able to buy my freedom because of the great debt I incurred through sin. Help me to serve You well, Jesus, my magnificent Savior. I set my heart to obey you even in the difficult area of forgiveness. Thank You for Your sacrifice!
Your Servant,
Pastor Jason
When Jesus commanded His disciples to forgive completely in an unending way they asked Him to increase their faith. His response was to tell them that this was not an issue of faith but of obedience. He told them they needed only the tiniest amount of faith for that. He told them a parable that put them in the master role. Even though the servants had been working hard all day they as masters would not have cu them any slack at supper time. They would have still required the servants to serve the master first. The master would not have considered it above their duty to feed him before they ate. Even after all of that they would have recognized that the master had paid more for them than what they were worth and their service would not have been a matter of pride – it was only what was expected of them.
Forgiveness is like that. It is only another service to the Master in the Kingdom. It is simply serving Him first and then us. Forgiveness requires no great act of faith. It requires us to realize that the price the Master paid for us means we have no excuses for disobedience. Whatever service we give Him, including forgiving those who owe us, pales next to the cost our lives required of Him. We need to forgive with the same attitude as setting the table for the Master. On the scale of cost He has laid out with His unending life they are both the same.
I am a slave that will never be able to buy my freedom because of the great debt I incurred through sin. Help me to serve You well, Jesus, my magnificent Savior. I set my heart to obey you even in the difficult area of forgiveness. Thank You for Your sacrifice!
Your Servant,
Pastor Jason
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