Seventy Times Seven

Matthew 18: 21-22 (NASB) “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”

Most of us know this conversation between Peter and Jesus. But not so much in the context as it was explained to me by the Spirit.

“You’re the other guy.”

“What do You mean?”

“You’re the one who needs to be forgiven seventy times seven!”

I write about God never being wrong, ever. So, I pondered this until I understood what He was saying. Let me explain; I have a problem with arrogance and judgement. They are reoccurring sins. I describe dealing with my arrogance as peeling the layers of an onion. I get rid of one form of arrogance, and it feels great. Like a load off my back. But underneath the layer that’s gone is another layer of arrogance. Maybe a little smaller, but still arrogance. I wonder how many layers of the onion are there? Seventy times seven? One thing I do notice is that my judging is tied in with the arrogance and the more arrogance I lose, the less I judge.

Realizing that I’m the one who needs the forgiveness sheds a whole new light on 1 John 1: 9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I cannot get rid of this stuff if I don’t confess. When I do confess then He can cleanse me. It’s actually quite simple!

Cleanse is definitely the right word. When I apologize and ask for forgiveness, I do feel cleaner on the inside, like I have been given a fresh start all over again. That cleanliness is necessary in the Christian’s walk with Christ. It allows us to make the next step. The Spirit will not let me take my next step until I have dealt with my unrighteousness. If I try to move on without dealing with it, I waste both time and energy, because I must retrace my steps back to the point of error.

This is part of the challenge and dare I say fun of being a Christian. Yeah, it can be embarrassing to have to ask for forgiveness, especially multiple times. But it is how the Spirit wants us to live, and we will be better for it.

Amen?