Musing from the motel the principle of forgiveness. {Matthew 18: 21-22}

Let us muse again today from Matthew 18: 20 – 21 and the theme of Jesus the king. In these verses we are confronted with a truth often hard to practice and it is the principle of forgiveness. In verse 20 Peter asked the Lord about forgiving one who has offended him and he graciously puts a number of seven times. Peter thinks this is an adequate number to forgive one person even if it is the same offense. In verse 21 our Lord tells Peter his number is way too small. It should be seven times seventy or 490 times. The Lord is saying if one offends you 490 times of the same offense and ask for forgiveness we should forgive them. Our Lord is basically saying forgiveness must be unending. Let us remember no one has ever hurt or offended us as much as we have hurt and offended our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ and yet He forgave us all. Let us remember Psalms 119: 165 which says great peace have they that love thy law and nothing shall offend them. When we are offended and refused to forgive we have no peace or love for the Word of God.