February 17, 2024
Daily Devotion:
"Seventy Times Seven Times"
Matthew 18:21-22
The Passion Translation
Later Peter approached Jesus and said, “How many times do I have to forgive my fellow believer who keeps
offending me? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven times!
Jesus then shared the parable of a slave who owed the king a great debt. The king felt compassion, released
him, and forgave the debt. But later, the man found someone who owed him a smaller amount. Rather than extend a portion of the grace he’d received, the slave demanded payment and punished the other man until he could pay it all. Hearing of this wickedness, the king called back the slave who had shown no mercy to a fellow worker. Then the king withdrew his generous offer and handed the slave over to jailors to work off every single denarius he owed.
May an unmerciful mindset never be true of us. When we truly grasp the depth of what Jesus did on the
cross (Colossians 2:14), we should be eager to grant and freely share that gift with others. Forgiveness becomes a natural outpouring of the indwelling power
of God within us, allowing us to forgive to the extreme—just as we are forgiven.
