“Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.”
Matthew 18:33-34
Peter asked how many times he HAD to forgive, and Jesus' parable clearly answered: Grace is not measured by numbers, but by the power of its flow!
When a servant with a massive debt begged the king for mercy, he was forgiven and released from a life of slavery. However, that same forgiven servant then refused to forgive a fellow-servant and instead, threw him into prison. His choice to be selfish with grace was costly!
The king heard his servant had not passed on the grace he’d been given, so he sent that unforgiving servant to prison to be tortured! The same happens to me when I don’t forgive. The difference is, I lock MYSELF in an isolated cell, thinking it will protect me from further hurt. But instead of finding peace, I'm tortured day and night because I keep hitting the replay button in my memory. I become a prisoner to my pain and a slave to my offender.
I need to understand the flow of grace! Of course, I want healing for my broken heart, but healing is a blessing that flows in God’s River of Grace. I can’t withhold grace from those who have hurt me, and expect the blessings of that river to still flow in my life!
When I stop the flow of grace THROUGH me, I stop the blessings of grace TO me!
