77?

I think a lot about forgiveness - giving it - receiving it. For you see receiving it for my errors, my sins is essential to my own salvation, just as is my giving it.

Matthew 18:22 - You know the context - Peter asks Jesus, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him, seven times? And you know our Lord's response.

Perhaps you've had this thought a million times, perhaps you saw it in the passage the first time you read it, but I didn't! Not at all. 7 times - no 77 times.

We always talk about how Peter was showing such compasusingseing the complete number of seven and how Jesus called him to such a higher level of thinking. BUT...I've been thinking that 77 times is not really that often. It may seem a lot when we think of how many times we have to forgive others. You think if someone had to come to you that many times, you'd question their sincerity?

But wait, I'm pretty sure I've asked for Mel's forgiveness that many times and I known I've asked Christ for forgiveness many more times than that.

Paul caught hold of this and informed us that it is much more than a math formula. He simply taught that our forgiveness is dependant on our forgiving others.

So, forget the count and the amount - forgive freely...