Forgiveness

There are few things more difficult than forgiveness.Building a business can be difficult. Raising a family can be difficult. Pursuing purpose can be difficult.But forgiving someone who has genuinely hurt you may be one of the hardest assignments of the human experience. Because forgiveness asks something from us that feels unnatural.It asks us to release a debt we feel is owed. It asks us to let go of a wound that still hurts.It asks us to stop carrying a burden that has become familiar.And yet, in Matthew 18, Jesus gives us one of the most profound teachings on forgiveness ever recorded.Peter approaches Jesus with what he probably thought was a generous question.“Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Peter thought he was being gracious.In Jewish culture, forgiving someone three times was already considered commendable.Peter doubled it and added one.Seven sounded spiritual.Seven sounded generous.Seven sounded holy.But Jesus shattered the calculation.“I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.”Jesus was not giving Peter a mathematical formula.He was giving him a new philosophy.Forgiveness is not an event. Forgiveness is a posture. Enjoy Today's Episode.