Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came up to Him and said, Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? [As many as] up to seven times? 22Jesus answered him, I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven!
Jesus commanded us to love (Matthew 22:36-40 AMPC), which means in the area of forgiving others we need to be diligent about it. In our text Jesus answers Peter and tells him to forgive his brother seventy times seven. Now if we were to take that literally and attempt to do it, can you imagine walking around with a notepad keeping score of all the wrongs done to you by someone, so that when you hit the magical number of 490 you wouldn’t have to forgive them anymore? That is way too much work and it’s much easier to forgive them and move on with your life than to maintain a list like that. We can’t afford to carry around unforgiveness. It will make you bitter, resentful and physically sick over time. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He told them receiving forgiveness from God is directly tied to them forgiving others (Matthew 6:14-15 AMPC). If we desire to be forgiven, then we must forgive, and forgiving people is not a feeling, it’s a decision. If there is someone you haven’t forgiven, there is no time like the present to let it go, forgive them and quit keeping score!