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by Kevin Pauley
"Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers until he could pay everything that was owed. So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart." - Matthew 18:32-35 HCSB
The parable of the unmerciful slave shows just how sinful an unforgiving heart is. The king forgave one slave a tremendous amount, more than he could have ever repaid. As he walked out of the throne room however, that ungrateful wretch found another slave who owed him a pittance. Rather than living by the humble knowledge of his new-found liberation, the first slave held the debt against the second slave and even threatened him with personal vengeance. Yahweh Melek judged that miserable sinner terribly.[1]
What is the moral of the story? Unless we repent of that arrogant sin, holding a grudge will forestall our own forgiveness.[2] It is a character trait of the forgiven to be forgiving and when we fail to forgive others, we are demonstrating that perhaps we have not truly been forgiven ourselves. We should double check our salvation, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.[3] We should imitate our Messiah who loved us and sacrificially gave Himself for us.[4] We must be willing to forgive a person who sins against us, as Christ was willing to forgive us.[5] Real forgiveness does not keep a record of wrongs. True love is willing to forgive even seventy times seven[6] when a person does actually ask for forgiveness.
Don’t get me wrong; those who refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoing are a completely different matter. Their stubbornness may actually lead to withdrawal of fellowship and even church discipline. Though Christ made forgiveness available for all, not all will be forgiven. Witness the great numbers who will end up in hell. We must be willing to forgive those who trespass against us, but if they refuse our forgiveness and choose to stubbornly continue in their sins, we are not bound by God for that.
The father of the prodigal son forgave him and accepted him as completely as if he had not sinned. The father represents God and reveals how God treats repentant sinners.[7] The prodigal apparently went years without the Father running to him with forgiveness. Even when his state became critical and he was starving, the Father did not reach out to him.
Finally, the prodigal son came to his senses, recognized that he had sinned against both his father and God, was humbly willing to publicly confess his sin and to take the position of a bond-servant. Only then did the father (an image of God our Father) run toward him and forgive him.
Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.
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