King Louis XII once said, “Nothing smells so sweet as the dead body of your enemy.”

Aaaah yeah.  Nice philosophy. For him maybe, but I do not prefer to live my life that way.  I hope it doesn’t take the dead body of someone who hurt you to realize he is missing the mark.

Contrast that philosophy to the words of Jesus and I believe you will find two opposite views.

“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Or how about one of the biggest lessons in forgiveness He ever taught (other than when He was on the cross) found in Matthew 18:21-35? You probably know the story. Peter asks how often we should forgive, up to seven times? He was, in all honesty, being magnanimous. Three was the limit in Jewish thought.

“Not seven but seventy times seven.”

Really? Are you kidding me?

Then He tells a story of a man who owed a debt he could not pay only to have it forgiven, He then went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a mere pittance and threw him in jail. Enough of that nonsense! The king turned around and through his behind in jail.

It is not easy to forgive…I don’t care who you are. Keeping resentment, hurt, bitterness, and all the accompanying consequences under wraps is impossible. They will come back to haunt.

This Sunday I will be preaching on Matthew 18 and the subject of forgiveness. I ask for your prayers and deeply appreciate them.

Meanwhile, how are you on forgiveness?