“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt” (Matthew 18:28-30)

This servant misunderstood the key of forgiveness. He had been set free by his own master for a debt he owed. Before being set free, he proposed to his master: “Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything.” His master “took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go” (Matthew 18:26-27). He received three gracious things: empathy (took pity on him), mercy (cancelled the debt) and grace (let him go), yet he gave none of these to a fellow servant, at the least empathy. How did he expect this fellow servant to repay from the prison? He wanted him to get into more debt by borrowing.

When their master heard what the servant did, he “handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed” (Matthew 18:34). Unforgiveness breeds torture. He closed the door that was opened to him. Forgiveness is a key to heaven’s blessings. So, Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). Is someone a prisoner because of his/her offense? Jesus, our Master, took pity on us, cancelled our debt and let us go. May we draw strength from Him to do same. Amen.

#goodmorning

BeEncouraged❤ Freely Received. Freely Give