March 8, 2024

Matthew 18:21-35  (HCSB)
The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven. 23 For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. 25 Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. 26 “At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ 27 Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. 28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’
29 “At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart.”

Dana Dorris
Have you ever owed someone so much money that you simply had no idea how to pay it off? I have…namely, my student loans. Some people think it’s my fault that I have student loan debt, but they rarely bother asking me WHY I have it. I have it because I was a single mother of 2 little girls who required school and daycare, not to mention food, clothing, and somewhere to live.
I was working full time, making 13K a year (yep, you read that correctly), and I had no other choice. I had to accrue some debt in order to improve my situation. I feel like I’ll never pay that debt off, and it worries me every day of my life, but enough about that…let’s align the story of monetary debt with our sinful debt. How on earth could I ever pay off my sinner's debt? Is it as impossible as me paying off my student loans? NOPE, and here’s why: my sinner’s debt has been PAID IN FULL. Every time I need a loan for my sin debt, the funding has been there, and I’ve never been overdrawn! With my heart in the right direction, as I call on Him to free me from what I owe, He has never denied me access to those funds. So, should we free our debtors from their sinner's debt when we’ve been hurt? Yes, we’d better because the alternative may not be so favorable. Handle your accounts wisely, the benefits are endless. Never forget the “Price” He paid for you.