Read: Matthew 18:21-35
Jesus once told a parable that expressed his feelings about patience, a virtue which is called "longsuffering" in the King James Version of the Bible. He told the story after Peter questioned him about the number of times you must forgive a sinful relative who offends you. Guessing the answer, Peter said, "Up to seven times?" Stating the guess was wrong, Jesus suggested this figure needed to be multiplied by eleven.
To illustrate the point, Jesus spoke about a ruler setting aside the debts of a subject. This man owed the ruler a fortune, but he was unable to repay the huge sum of money. In order to get some return on his investment, the ruler decided to sell both the man and his family into slavery and to liquidate all of his assets. The man begged the ruler to be patient and to allow him a bit more time to repay what he owed.
No doubt this large debtor hoped, instead of being angry or anxious to get his money back, the ruler might agree to wait just a little while longer. After all, the ruler had already been carrying the financial burden for some time. However, rather than being patient and allowing the man more time to repay the loan, the ruler chose not to seek any money whatsoever. He did this out of compassion for the large debtor.
After gaining his freedom, Jesus said, this large debtor went to a third person who owed him a small amount of money. He grabbed the small debtor by the throat and demanded his money back. This man asked his colleague to adopt a patient attitude, reassuring him the money would be repaid. Unwilling to comply with the request, the large debtor had the small debtor imprisoned, refusing to let him out until the loan was repaid in full.
Jesus said there were some other servants who had seen what had happened. He told of how they all went to the ruler and told him what the large debtor had done to the small debtor. According to the Lord, the ruler then had the large debtor brought before him and he was fierce in his criticism of the behaviour of this man. Not only was the large debtor imprisoned, but he was tortured until his loan was repaid, said Jesus.
The lesson here is interesting. Lenders and debtors are longsuffering because it takes a lengthy period of time for a loan to be repaid. In the same way, it takes a large amount of effort to forgive others when you are sinned against, but this must be done. In fact, if you don't forgive those who trespass against you, then God will not forgive you. As a result you risk being condemned for eternity to a tortuous life in the worst prison imaginable.
Pray: Jesus. Forgive my trespasses and help me to patiently forgive those who trespass against me. Amen.
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