QUICK TO FORGIVE

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” — Matthew 18:21

“Papa, I left my Gameboy inside the movie theater!” my son Jason said. It had been almost 10 minutes since we left the moviehouse. We ran back to the theater. The next batch of moviegoers were already filing in. I was anxious we wouldn’t find his Gameboy anymore.

We rushed to the place where we had been seated but we only saw empty seats. My emotions were shifting from anxiety to anger when Jason said, “Papa, please forgive me for losing my video game.”

I didn’t know how to react. I just replied, “Don’t worry, it’s just a toy.” Then, as if on queue, the maintenance man approached us and asked if we were looking for a video game. He told us to proceed to their office so we could claim it.

Jesus teaches us to forgive repeatedly because God is always willing to forgive us. His concept of forgiveness is very different from ours. We are choosy about who to forgive while He forgives all who return to Him. While we take longer to pardon, God forgives immediately. God’s great love for us will always surpass our sins, whether big or small.  

- alvinfabella, sharing from Didache March 5,2013