“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”[1] That’s what C. S. Lewis wrote in his compelling book, Mere Christianity. Forgiveness is a great concept until we must put it into practice. Do you have someone you need to forgive?

The apostle Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive a person. In response, Jesus told the story of a king who wanted to settle his accounts. The first man brought before the king owed millions of dollars. Facing imprisonment, the debtor begged for leniency. The king showed pity and let him go. The man left the king’s presence forgiven…but was unwilling to forgive others.

Leaving the palace, this forgiven debtor ran into a man who owed him some money—just a few dollars—and he lit into the guy! He demanded payment. He ignored the man’s pleas for grace and had the debtor thrown into prison. Word got back to the king. The man the king had forgiven was brought in. The king chastised his servant for his ruthless actions and sent him off to prison. Our passage today explains the king’s reasoning.

Matthew 18:32–33
Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

The lesson of the story is this: How can we, who have been granted forgiveness by God, not transfer that forgiveness to others? Who do you need to extend grace and forgiveness to today?

 Father, may we, as grace-receivers, always be grace-givers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Harper, San Francisco, 1952, 1980), 115.