Recent Musings:
Devotion #1
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
I volunteered to write three devotions for a Lenten devotional at my church. I thought I'd post them. I wish I had spent more time pondering the texts, because I struggled with clarity on what to say. However, I was grateful for the thoughts I was given. It may be necessary to read the Bible verses first to understand my points. Enjoy.
March 21st - Seventy-Seven Times: God calls us to be merciful with all of our brothers and sisters – always. Matthew 18:21-35
I think Peter begins this parable with his humanity shining through. Peter is looking for an answer, a solution, to the difficult process of forgiving someone. He asks Jesus a legitimate question: "How many times shall I forgive?"
The answer Peter receives via parable is a bit extreme, because while we see a very merciful king, we also see a very unmerciful man. We are given a great example of mercy by the king, who although he had every right to demand full payment from his servant, instead took pity on him and cancelled his debt. However, this servant didn't learn from the king's mercy and turned viciously on a man that owed him much less money. He was, in turn, punished for his mercilessness and perhaps for not learning what mercy is.
I believe deep down inside the servant was a man that thought he deserved to have his debt forgiven by the king; somewhere inside of him he believed he had earned that debt cancellation. Therefore, when he came across his servant whom he knew had not earned a debt cancellation, he couldn't find the wellspring of mercy and understanding and forgiveness within himself to offer to another.
The problem with our humanity is that we sometimes view our salvation in terms of a checklist, of things accomplished that will earn us our spot in heaven. As we live by this checklist of salvation, we lose the gratitude of knowing that we cannot earn a spot in heaven and are instead given, through Christ's mercy, a spot in heaven just because of our faith. Earning salvation does not feel the same as being given salvation; receiving what you deserve does not feel the same as being given something you could never earn.
The only example, the only option we have for mercy that is capable of 77 times of forgiveness is Christ's, who is the source and the wellspring of mercy. When I think of forgiving 77 times, or nearly whenever I've been wronged, I know that my mercy has and will run dry. Unless I can tap into the wellspring of Christ's mercy, I begin to treat others just as ruthlessly as the servant who couldn't find the mercy for another.
The awe and glory of mercy, Christ's mercy, is that we never receive what we deserve. If I could look at all the wrongs done to me with the same mentality, only then would I be able to grasp what Christ has given to me.