Day 13 — Seventy-Seven Times

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!’”

— Matthew 18:21–22 (BSB)

Peter thought he was being very generous. Some teachers in his day said you should forgive someone three times. So Peter doubled it and added one. “Up to seven times?” He probably expected Jesus to say, “Wow, Peter, that’s amazing!”

But Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!”

Jesus didn’t mean you should count to seventy-seven and then stop forgiving. He meant: Stop counting. Forgiveness shouldn’t have a limit.

Then Jesus told a story. A servant owed his king a huge amount of money, more than he could ever pay back in a thousand lifetimes. When the king was about to sell him and his family, the servant begged for mercy. And the king felt compassion and canceled the whole debt!

But then that same servant went out and found another servant who owed him a small amount, just a few months’ pay. He grabbed him and demanded that he pay back what he owed. When the man couldn’t pay, the first servant had him thrown in prison.

When the king heard about it, he was furious. “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?”

Do you see the point? God has forgiven us a huge debt. Every sin we’ve ever committed, He forgave through Jesus. Compared to that, the wrongs other people do to us are small. When we remember how much we’ve been forgiven, it becomes easier to forgive others.

Forgiving doesn’t mean saying what the person did was okay. It doesn’t mean pretending it didn’t hurt. And it doesn’t mean you have to trust them again right away, or let them keep hurting you. If someone keeps hurting you, tell a trusted adult.

Forgiveness means letting go of revenge. It means you stop keeping a list of what they owe you, and you give the whole thing to God. It’s like the king canceling the debt.

Forgiveness is hard. But it sets you free. Holding a grudge is like carrying a heavy backpack everywhere you go. Forgiveness lets you put it down.

Think about it: Why do you think remembering how much God has forgiven us helps us forgive others?

Try this: Is there someone you haven’t forgiven? Tell God about it today, and ask Him to help you let go of the debt.

Dear God, thank You for forgiving me so much. Help me forgive others the way You have forgiven me. When someone hurts me, help me let go of revenge and give it to You. Set me free from carrying grudges. In Jesus’ name, Amen.