i saw a picture today, and it made me mad. like really mad.

it brought stuff up, man. negative stuff. hurtful stuff. past stuff. stuff i had worked through. stuff i had forgiven.

as i felt my blood start to boil, i thought about jesus's words in matthew 18.

"then peter came to jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall i forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “i tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times".

now, some people misinterpret this verse and believe it to mean that you should let people walk all over you, but that isn't the case.

example:

spouse hits you. forgiven.
spouse hits you again. round two.
and again. forgiven three times.
74 more punches to go.
74 more doses of forgiveness.

how i interpret it:

choosing forgiveness again and again when your mind and emotions play a trick on you and you're forced to relive what happened, or when you see a picture like i did this morning, or run into the person who hurt you, or have no choice but to face the consequences of their irresponsible and selfish actions every. single. day.

the seventy seven times wasn't mean to be taken literally [who counts that much any ways?], but jesus was making a point. he always did. and he brought the point home in the parable that followed. [see verses 23-35].

i believe:

1) that Christ died on the cross for my sins
2) that i'm forgiven because of his sacrifice and because i have asked him to [and continue to ask him to] forgive me for my sins [and trust me, i have many].

which means:

i have no choice but to forgive the trespasses of others ... even if it takes me seventy seven times.