Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount…
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.'…
So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." (Mt 18:21-19:1)
The key thing is not that one should swallow all resentment and ‘forgive and forget’ as though nothing has happened. But one should never give up making forgiveness and reconciliation as one’s goal in life. If confrontation has to happen, it must always be with forgiveness in mind and never revenge.
Why does Jesus say that those who refuse to forgive will themselves be refused forgiveness? Why should God behave this way? Can’t God override our failings? What the Gospels tell us is totally different. With regard to forgiveness the story takes a different turn. Forgiveness is only in as much as one forgives.
This is a very hard lesson to learn. Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer say it all. It you are counting how many times you have forgiven the other then you are not really forgiving but simply postponing revenge. ‘Seventy times seven’ is just telling don’t even think about counting but just do it. Just forgive.
