Mercy
23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[a] was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[b] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'
Bee's Thoughts:
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matthew 5:7)
God seems to be reminding me about showing mercy to some of my colleagues in tonight's devotion. Tomorrow, I am suppose to talk to them about 'paying back' the working hours they owed our company. I guess I have to be very sensitive and handle them with care.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your word tonight, reminding me of Your mercy to me. I pray that You will teach me to be merciful like You are. Grant me wisdom when I talk to my colleagues tomorrow. Give me the right words to speak and let their heart be prepared to reason, May Your name be glorified in the whole episode tomorrow.
In Jesus' name I humbly pray. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
It is hard to forgive those who have hurt us badly. The scar remains inside our hearts for a very long time. But as we look at how God has forgiven all our sins, we should learn not to withhold forgiveness from others; especially those you know has regretted and truly repentant of their action.
By forgiving others we begin the process of alleviating the pain that we have kept hold of, due to the hurt that the other person has caused us. Our true healing begins once we are willing to forgive them.
Jesus answered Peter “seventy-seven times” we should forgive those who offend us (v22) – meaning that we should always forgive no matter how many times they ask. When we don’t forgive others, we are in fact setting ourselves outside and above Christ’s law of love.
Dear Father, thank You for Your forgiveness that provides me with a free and generous attitude of forgiveness towards others. Guide me to also show mercy to others as You has shown mercy to me. Teach and remind me this always. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
