Friday - Free or Bond

Matthew 18:34-35 –  "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

Here's the tragic irony of the whole parable: the servant had just walked out of the king's presence completely free, and by refusing to release someone else, he ended up back in bondage. Free one moment. Bound the next. He thought he was punishing the man who owed him. Instead, he became the prisoner.

That's what unforgiveness actually does. It promises control (like holding onto the debt somehow gives you power over the person who hurt you). But all it produces is torment. To hold a grudge, you have to keep the account open. You have to keep remembering. You have to keep recalculating what they still owe you. And eventually you realize the debt isn't the only thing you're holding – it's holding you.

Jesus isn't saying we earn God's forgiveness by forgiving others. This servant had already received mercy he could never deserve.

What Jesus is saying is that mercy which has genuinely reached your heart will change how you treat the people who hurt you. If it hasn't changed that yet, it's worth asking what's still standing in the way.

Think back over this week – the name you named on Wednesday, the comparison you made on Thursday. What would it actually look like, this week, to let it go? Not to say it didn't happen. Not to pretend it didn't hurt. Just to stop being the one standing guard over a debt that was never yours to collect in the first place.