Connecting Point: Sidetracked By Numbers

Generosity goes beyond simply giving money; generosity permeates all areas of our lives. One area which we tend to forget in

applying generosity is in our relationships, specifically forgiveness. Have you ever wrestled with an unforgiving attitude? If we are honest, we all fall short in this struggle.

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them,” Luke 17:1-4.

I’ve always been mesmerized by Jesus’ statement “Seventy times seven” and haven’t fully grasped the magnitude or enormity of

forgiveness. I get lost in numbers easily and can correlate that

forgiveness is a mark of truly being generous. The challenge to

continually forgive others is difficult, and most of us begrudgingly admit so. Another way to understand Jesus’ ideology is; imagine someone has hurt you in the worst way possible and multiply that hurt. Then you must turn around and forgive them. Forgiveness isn’t about a large tally of offenses wiped away, but it is the simplicity of one’s willingness to forgive.

Take note that Jesus gives an initial warning, “watch yourselves.” Why is this significant? He has always understood the human heart in context of our relationships. We stumble easily when someone sins against us by focusing on the other person’s deficiencies, rather than reflecting on our own. When the shoe is on the other foot and we sin against another, we long for the other person to understand and forgive. Wow, doesn’t Jesus call everything straight?

Pastor Timothy Keller relates how anger or lack of forgiveness will destroy a person: “Anger will always tell you it’s not anger.” He

brilliantly points out that in the Old English, wrath: wreath, writhe, and wraith all are derived from the same word for anger. When we hold back forgiveness, anger will twist us up in a complex mess and stop us from moving beyond injustices. Jesus, on the other hand, presents the truth that sets us free; forgiveness. It doesn’t matter how many times someone has wronged us, freedom comes when we let go and forgive.

Radical generosity is surely something we can apply in our

relationships. Take to heart the very words of Jesus and live!