Guest Post: Forgiveness (Part 1)

Remember last week's guest post? As promised, here is the next part of Mandy's journey...

Forgiveness Part 1 - I Am the Wicked Servant
If you missed my introduction post, you can go here to read about my long-running struggle with forgiveness.

Our first week here in VA, a situation occured which brought my bitterness freshly to the surface. For the countless time, I struggled in vain to release my right to be angry over old wounds.

In His infinite wisdom, God directed us to visit a certain church that week... where the sermon happened to be was ordained to be on forgiveness.

Though the preacher spoke very well and made some amazing points, I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit was the one teaching me that morning. For starters, when the pastor first read through the Bible passage [below], the Holy Spirit prompted me to exchange the words of the text to make it more personal. Like so:

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one Mandy was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents 6 billion dollars. And since he she could not pay, his her master ordered him her to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he she had, and payment to be made. So the servant Mandy fell on his her knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him her, the master of that servant Mandy released him her and forgave him her the debt. But when that same servant Mandy went out, he she found one of his fellow servants David who owed him her a hundred denarii $12,000, and seizing him, he she began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant David fell down and pleaded with him her, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He Mandy refused and went and put him David in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants everyone else saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his Mandy's master summoned him her and said to him her, ‘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 David, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his Mandy's master delivered him her to the jailers, until he she should pay all his her debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
[Matthew 18:21-35 ESV]

When I exchanged "the servant" with my own name, I saw my life reflected in this passage, and I got chills at the end when Jesus says "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." Yikes.

Seeing myself as the "wicked servant" was the first step that God had me take on the path to freedom. It's so easy to judge the first man in this story... why on earth would he care about the other man's debt when he had just been pardoned so much?

But I knew... I knew because that first man was such a clear reflection of myself. I knew all to well that the first man felt justified in doing what he did because he didn't understand the gravity of his own debt... of what he had been pardoned. I began to pray earnestly that God would reveal just how great a debt I owed Him... just how much I had been forgiven by my Heavenly Father.

God answered my prayer, and I will share His reply with you next week.

- Mandy

I know...good stuff that keeps getting better. Until next week friends!