This week in “It’s Like This”, Pastor Phil gave us a glimpse of what Forgiveness looks like in the Kingdom of Heaven. We looked at Matthew 18 and Jesus explaining how many times we must be able to forgive those who have wronged us. The number 490 comes up, but really Jesus is implying there is no limit to the number of times we need to forgive others, in the same way that God’s forgiveness of our numerous sins does not suddenly stop at some arbitrary number. We should be very thankful for the measure of forgiveness Jesus bestows upon us considering the punishment He took on our behalf. Additionally, it is important we understand forgiveness to be the complete release of whatever debt someone owes us. Failure to do so only hinders our own ability to move on and be in kingdom relationship.
Pastor Phil gave us the following quick and easy checklist: Acknowledge the Hurt; Accept the Pain; Forgive the Debt. He then challenged us to think of people in our life who we need to forgive. Holding tight to a grudge or some other debt owed only hurts us. We must allow ourselves to release ourselves from that bondage.
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
