70 X 7

Last night in a movie theater while waiting for Mockingjay to begin I overheard the following bit of a conversation: "I just can't believe she did it again. I forgave her once; how many times should I forgive her?"  I don't know who she is or what she did, but it occurred to me that Jesus already answered the question...if they really wants to know the answer.

Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV): Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "LORD, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? 7 times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not 7 times, but 70 times 7."  

Not recorded is Peter's response of, "HOLY CRAP!" That's a lot of forgiveness. Most of us have trouble with once. But that is not what Jesus requires of us. It's hard, and it may not seem fair, but that's the deal. Just as there are no limits on God's grace in our lives, we are to take the cap off our well of forgiveness. 70 X 7. Lots of scholars believe that means an infinite amount of times we are called upon to forgive others...and ourselves. But I'll make a deal with you today. You forgive someone 490 times, and we'll not worry about the infinite stuff. 490 times. We'd better get started...

Because of Jesus,