DEVOTION / Why should I forgive you?
490 and then some
Four hundred and ninety is an interesting number. Jesus once used that number when he was speaking to his disciples. He wanted to teach them an important lesson about forgiveness. Jesus told them that if someone sins against you, you should forgive that person and not hold the sin against them. That means the sin should be forgotten, and life should go on. When Peter heard this, he was confused. He wondered what to do with a person who sins against you again and again. So he asked Jesus, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my friend when he or she sins against me? Is seven times enough? I don’t need to keep forgiving that person, do I? Peter asked a good question. What number do you think is enough?
Jesus looked at Peter and said, “No, seven times is not a good number. I think 490 times sounds better!” What was Jesus telling Peter? He was saying that there should be no limit on how many times we forgive someone. We shouldn’t even keep track of how many times we forgive them.
God places no limit on how many times he forgives us. Can you imagine how many sins we commit in a lifetime? How many times in just a week do we think bad thoughts, say bad things, and do sinful deeds? It only takes a few days, and we commit enough sins for God to look at us and give up. But that is not what he does. God loves us and is patient with us. He knows we are weak and that we often fall short of what he expects us to be.
Thank God for his great mercy!
That’s why it was important for Jesus to die on a cross. He had to take away every sin, sins that we have committed and sins that we will commit. And not just our sins but the sins of everyone in the world. Not only does he forgive each sin, but he also promises to never remember them again. Psalm 103 says that as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from his sight. Isaiah says that God puts all our sins behind his back so he can’t see them. Micah writes that God tramples our sins underfoot and then tosses them into the deepest part of the ocean.
Today’s question asks, “Why should I forgive you?” Now we know the answer. God should forgive us because Jesus died on the cross for us. He should forgive us not because we are good people but because Jesus was holy, and he took our sins away forever. What a merciful God we have. He not only forgives us 490 times, but a whole lot more. Let’s remember to thank him today for loving us so much!
By Reynold R. Kremer