Here's the thing about forgiveness…

Luke 17:3-4 (NIV) “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

Here's the thing about forgiveness. It is not limited. We cannot forgive someone partially. Jesus makes that clear in this passage.

I think we often say we forgive someone, but then we add their mistakes to a list that will one day become too much to forgive and at that point we cut them off. This is not the case with God, He always wipes our list clean when we repent and turn away from our sins back to Him. He is not partial, He fully forgives every time even if you go back and make the same dumb choice as you did the seventy other times.

Just like in the story of the prodigal son, God the Father is waiting with open arms for His wayward children to come home. He will accept us right back into the family when we come back to Him. No matter how far we have strayed, no matter how many times we wander off. He will forgive us.

If that is the way He treats us, then that is how we should treat others. We must forgive fully, no matter how many times the person has wronged you. Now that's not to say we forgive without any sign of change; the passage clearly says rebuke them if they sin against you and IF they repent, then you MUST forgive them. There is no place for unforgiveness in the Kingdom of God.

This is a hard truth to believe. The disciples after hearing this said, "Increase our faith!"

Let us pray the same way. "LORD, would you increase our faith today. Show us how you have forgiven us completely. That you hold nothing against us thanks to the blood of Jesus. Would you show us areas that we need to repent in and help us to forgive others when they do wrong against us. Amen"