After Peter had just learned how to correctly reconcile a situation in yesterday's passage, he asks an honest question. "When is enough, enough?" Peter wanted to know, at what point do we quit forgiving the person who continually wrongs us? The equation of seventy times seven is figurative of course. We should forgive continually.
In this parable, the man who was forgiven of a debt he could never repay, turned around and put a man in prison for one day's wages. As a result, this man was soon rejected by his lord (the one who had forgiven him), and put away into prison. Please do not misunderstand this parable! You as a Christian can not lose your salvation! The moral of this story is that a Christian should never act as this debtor has. We should be willing to forgive others over and over for the sins they commit against us. Especially considering the multitude of sins we have committed against our Lord which have all been forgiven! Ephesians 4:32 says, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
We also need to temper our forgiveness with good wisdom. The man who forgave his debtor did not extend another loan to the man once he was forgiven. In cases like this, trust must be earned. However, we can forgive the person who sins against us and love them in the Lord.
If you have any bitterness in your heart, or if you are angry with a person for something you feel they did to you, go to the person and make it right. Go with a tender heart and Christian love for the other believer and you will be much more successful. Please do not damage your relationship with God for the sins of other people and your own. After all, bitterness is a sin itself. Let's look at Ephesians 4:31 and 32 together...
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
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