5-16-2023

Good Morning All,

Matthew 5:7; “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

     Jesus once told a parable about a king who was settling his accounts.  He called a man before him who owed about 200,000 years’ worth of wages to the king.  The man said he would pay the king back.  The king had mercy and forgave the debt.  The man then went out joyful at his good fortune.  Until he met a friend who owed him about 3 months were of wages.  When the friend asked for time, the first man went into a rage and had his “friend” thrown into prison until the debt was paid.  When the king heard this story, he called the first man in and asked him, “I showed you mercy, shouldn’t have you?” Then he had the first man thrown into prison until his debt was paid.

    One time I listened in a Bible study while the leader of the study rationalized how unlikely this scenario was.  This person was so callous and out-of-touch that he must be almost psychotic.  This act so lacks sensitivity that it is almost off the charts.  After all, what kind of a monster would put anyone, let alone a friend, in prison over an insignificant sum of money?  There was a hearty round of agreement, and everyone went away feeling good about themselves.  As we left, I kept thinking of the prayer of the Pharisee who said, “I thank you, my God, that I am not a sinner like that man!”

     Don’t we throw people into “prison” all the time?  Don’t we demand that all debts, no matter how small, get paid?  Think of your brothers or sisters, have you ever been mad at them for a couple of days because they messed up your room?  Did you try to get even?  What about your spouse?  Do they ever do something that leaves you with the feeling, maybe you even say it; “They knew I was mad at them over this.”  Not all prisons have steel bars and locks.  Some are made of our anger and our judgmental attitude.  Yet we leave church having received God’s forgiveness, but we punish our children for making us be two minutes late for church.

    We are that man.  Our sinful nature does a good job convincing us otherwise, but we are that man.  We stand and gratefully receive God’s forgiveness of our sins, yet we extract from our family and friends’ payment for every sin, real or imagined, and we put them into our emotional prison until they pay.  If that is you, and it probably is at one time or another, God is speaking to you.  Look at the debt that we are forgiven.  The amount that the first man owes in the parable is absurdly high to make the point; we can never pay that debt only God can forgive it.  Yet someone messes up our room, causes us a little inconvenience, hurts our feelings or some other small matter and we imprison them for days or weeks until they pay.

    If that is you, listen to God’s Word of forgiveness and heed his warning.  Be merciful and you will receive mercy.

 Dear Father, too often we refuse to forgive others.  We would rather keep them in our prisons.  Forgive us when we do this and give us the insight to see when we do this and give us the strength and wisdom to do so.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret