when love becomes a challenge

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 NLT

Jesus taught His disciples about forgiveness, and loving beyond reason. When asked how many times should I forgive a person, assuming they were being generous and saying,  perhaps 7 times? He said, "No! 70 times 7!" (Matt 18: 21-22).Jesus then followed this up with a story about the topic. Stories always bring an impact to the morale of the lesson. Jesus told about a ruler who had decided to bring his financial accounts up to date with those who owed him money. One of his servants owed a lot and was about to be sold, along with his family, into slavery. Be begged for forgiveness and was forgiven his debt. However, he went out and found another servant who owned him a small amount, and repeated the accounting, but he refused to give grace. The master heard about it and was furious and sent the man to prison where he was tortured until he paid what was due. (I often wonder how someone can pay up whilst in jail, perhaps it means they extracted it from his hide).

What does this story tells us? Forgive lest we find ourselves not forgiven and worse off. Laying down our desire for revenge and payment can be a wise move indeed.