The parable of the unmerciful servant. I once did a sermon on this one. The first servant owed way more than can possibly be imagined by us. At present day values, it's in the several billions of dollars. The king forgave it, after the servant begged him to. It was a big deal, but the king is very merciful. The second servant owed considerably less. I think that's about 4 months wages, give or take. For me, that's around $20,000. That's a lot of money. It's not several billion dollars, but for the average joe, that's a lot of money.
I think that's part of the point. This unmerciful servant was owed a goodly sum of money, and had every right to act as he did. But, these are special circumstances. He's just been forgiven a hhuuuugggggeeeeee debt, and what is owed to him is small, but only in comparison. What we are called upon to forgive will often be a big deal to us. Some wrongs are immense, and not easily forgiven, and in many cases not forgotten at all. But in comparison they are small against what has been forgiven us when we are forgiven by God. There is no downplaying of the seriousness of what was owed the servant, just that in the light of the immense forgiveness he was shown, he did not do likewise.
Forgiveness is one of the essential aspects of what God calls us to. There is no law of forgiveness on the books of our governments. Do not steal, do not murder... these things translate into things that can be punished and controlled. But no one can force us to forgive. No law will suffice to curb our unforgiveness. Jesus doesn't give us examples of what we ought not to do, but of who we should be. Be the neighbour, like the Samaritan. Be forgiving, like the king in this story. Sure, there are consequences to not doing these things. But we are called and equipped to be like the Samaritan and like the king.
No comments:
Post a Comment