Forgiveness is a hard thing. People are really mean sometimes. It's really hard to forgive someone for doing something that makes your life difficult or inconvenient. Trespasses against us range from the menial to the severe. But forgiveness is essential to any disciple of Christ.
Jesus Christ shared a parable about a king and his servant. The servant owed his king a very large debt. The time of reckoning eventually came and the king wanted his money. The servant begged for forgiveness. The merciful king "was moved with compassion ... and forgave him the debt". This is a great manifestation of the principle of forgiveness. Just like this servant, we can be forgiven of all our sins, when we disobey God's commandments. But the story goes on. The forgiven servant remembered a debt one of his "fellowservants" owed him. This debt was much smaller than the original amount owed to the king. This unrighteous man demanded the money. Similar to his creditor, the debtor begged for mercy, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all". The unrighteous servant would not forgive him but "cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt".
We don't want to be like this wicked servant. When we feel the peace and mercy of Christ's love in our lives, we should show that to others. We should follow our Savior's example and forgive others. We don't need to hold grudges or seek revenge. We can know true happiness with others when we master the art of forgiveness. In fact, to be forgiven of our own sins we must learn to forgive others. We must school all our feelings and follow the example of our savior.
"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (Luke 6: 37)
Jesus Christ shared a parable about a king and his servant. The servant owed his king a very large debt. The time of reckoning eventually came and the king wanted his money. The servant begged for forgiveness. The merciful king "was moved with compassion ... and forgave him the debt". This is a great manifestation of the principle of forgiveness. Just like this servant, we can be forgiven of all our sins, when we disobey God's commandments. But the story goes on. The forgiven servant remembered a debt one of his "fellowservants" owed him. This debt was much smaller than the original amount owed to the king. This unrighteous man demanded the money. Similar to his creditor, the debtor begged for mercy, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all". The unrighteous servant would not forgive him but "cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt".
We don't want to be like this wicked servant. When we feel the peace and mercy of Christ's love in our lives, we should show that to others. We should follow our Savior's example and forgive others. We don't need to hold grudges or seek revenge. We can know true happiness with others when we master the art of forgiveness. In fact, to be forgiven of our own sins we must learn to forgive others. We must school all our feelings and follow the example of our savior.
"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (Luke 6: 37)
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