If you wanted to read a really great work of literature, you could go to your local library and borrow: War and Peace, The Old Man and the Sea, The Great Gatsby, or countless others. But, as far as I’m concerned, there aren’t too many books that rival a classic from my childhood. “The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money” is without a doubt one of the greatest books you’ll ever read. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and pick it up, you’ll be glad you did. It’s a quick read, but what it lacks in length, it more than makes up for in meaning.
The Berenstain Bears Trouble with Money is a portrait of a young bear family, and their struggles to teach their children about money. Brother Bear and Sister Bear have a problem with money, namely they have a hard time holding onto it. It burns holes in their pockets, they spend it frivolously, they have a hard time saving. For them, that’s the trouble with money, they can’t seem to spend it or get rid of it fast enough. Often, they spend it on the wrong things. The book is all about Mama and Papa Bear trying to teach their young cubs how to save money, how to value their money, and how to put some away for a rainy day. Again, if you have yet to read this classic of American literature, go out and pick up a copy. Ours is well-worn and well-read.
Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel (v. 21-35) contains a quick lesson, too, but it is also full of meaning. You could call this story “The Trouble with Forgiveness.” It all begins with a simple question from a sincere disciple. Peter asks Jesus: “Lord, how many times should I forgive?” Already, he’s recognizing that when it comes to forgiveness, he’s having trouble. Maybe his question is an effort to make this difficult concept somehow simpler: “Should I forgive seven times?”
Jesus’ words remind Peter, and you and I, that forgiveness doesn’t really work that way. His story is an illustration of the trouble we often have with forgiveness.
Whereas the Bears in the book have trouble holding onto their money, often you and I have trouble letting go of our forgiveness. Sometimes we guard it as if it were pricelessly irreplaceable. Sometimes, we treat it like money: we bank it, we save it, we hold onto it. Sometimes, we lock our forgiveness up in an air-tight vault with thick walls, that only we have the combination to. Sometimes, we don’t let forgiveness out enough.
The trouble with forgiveness, that Jesus communicates, is that you have to GIVE it for it to work. The king in the story that Jesus tells gives forgiveness, he forgives an outrageous debt…and the servant is relieved. But, he still has trouble with forgiveness, because just a few moments later…he can’t do the same thing for a miniscule debt. Because of this, he winds up in trouble. When we don’t give our forgiveness away, and instead keep it all to ourselves, then we wind up in trouble.
What he never realized, is that you can never “bounce” a forgiveness check. You can never deplete your “forgiveness” bank. In fact, it’s impossible to ever run out of forgiveness. Peter is probably more ambitious than you and I could be “Can I forgive up to seven times?” Jesus still says he’s being way too conservative with his forgiveness.
We’ll never run out of forgiveness because God has already given us more than we could ever imagine. God knows how to give out forgiveness.
When we owed God and one another big time, God handed himself over to cancel our debt. No matter what we owed, Jesus came to forgive it. Unselfishly, he gave all that he could to erase every debt. He gave us his time, his listening ear, his loving presence…in the end, he gave us his life. Jesus’ death cancels our debt…forgives us completely. His new life, in rising again, helps us to get on a brand new payment plan…one that runs on love and forgiveness.
Because of all this, you will never “bounce” a forgiveness check, so write them often, and make sure they’re in large amounts.
Our Vision at Zion is for GROWING and the first challenge we’ve set to help ourselves grow is the commitment to GIVING UNSELFISHLY. I can think of few things more challenging to give unselfishly than forgiveness, but if we are really interested in GROWING in our faith, then this a good place to begin…by giving forgiveness unselfishly.
When you and I forgive from the heart, we grow! We grow closer to one another, and we grow closer to God. Jesus makes it abundantly clear in his last words to Peter that God is really interested in our trouble with forgiveness, and God is concerned with helping us overcome it.
When you think about your own trouble with forgiveness, who comes to mind? Who might benefit this week, if you decided to crack open your forgiveness vault and give some of it away? Who might you know who needs for you to open up your forgiveness checkbook and write one great big check? Who is that person whose whole life might change, all because you trusted God enough to confront your own trouble with forgiveness and give some of it away?
Forgiveness isn’t like money…it’s not something we should save up and bank throughout our lives. Instead it’s something God wants us to spend frivolously, generously, unselfishly…every day. He did it for you and it made your troubles easier to bear…you can do it for someone else and do the exact same thing.
The Berenstain Bears Trouble with Money is a portrait of a young bear family, and their struggles to teach their children about money. Brother Bear and Sister Bear have a problem with money, namely they have a hard time holding onto it. It burns holes in their pockets, they spend it frivolously, they have a hard time saving. For them, that’s the trouble with money, they can’t seem to spend it or get rid of it fast enough. Often, they spend it on the wrong things. The book is all about Mama and Papa Bear trying to teach their young cubs how to save money, how to value their money, and how to put some away for a rainy day. Again, if you have yet to read this classic of American literature, go out and pick up a copy. Ours is well-worn and well-read.
Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel (v. 21-35) contains a quick lesson, too, but it is also full of meaning. You could call this story “The Trouble with Forgiveness.” It all begins with a simple question from a sincere disciple. Peter asks Jesus: “Lord, how many times should I forgive?” Already, he’s recognizing that when it comes to forgiveness, he’s having trouble. Maybe his question is an effort to make this difficult concept somehow simpler: “Should I forgive seven times?”
Jesus’ words remind Peter, and you and I, that forgiveness doesn’t really work that way. His story is an illustration of the trouble we often have with forgiveness.
Whereas the Bears in the book have trouble holding onto their money, often you and I have trouble letting go of our forgiveness. Sometimes we guard it as if it were pricelessly irreplaceable. Sometimes, we treat it like money: we bank it, we save it, we hold onto it. Sometimes, we lock our forgiveness up in an air-tight vault with thick walls, that only we have the combination to. Sometimes, we don’t let forgiveness out enough.
The trouble with forgiveness, that Jesus communicates, is that you have to GIVE it for it to work. The king in the story that Jesus tells gives forgiveness, he forgives an outrageous debt…and the servant is relieved. But, he still has trouble with forgiveness, because just a few moments later…he can’t do the same thing for a miniscule debt. Because of this, he winds up in trouble. When we don’t give our forgiveness away, and instead keep it all to ourselves, then we wind up in trouble.
What he never realized, is that you can never “bounce” a forgiveness check. You can never deplete your “forgiveness” bank. In fact, it’s impossible to ever run out of forgiveness. Peter is probably more ambitious than you and I could be “Can I forgive up to seven times?” Jesus still says he’s being way too conservative with his forgiveness.
We’ll never run out of forgiveness because God has already given us more than we could ever imagine. God knows how to give out forgiveness.
When we owed God and one another big time, God handed himself over to cancel our debt. No matter what we owed, Jesus came to forgive it. Unselfishly, he gave all that he could to erase every debt. He gave us his time, his listening ear, his loving presence…in the end, he gave us his life. Jesus’ death cancels our debt…forgives us completely. His new life, in rising again, helps us to get on a brand new payment plan…one that runs on love and forgiveness.
Because of all this, you will never “bounce” a forgiveness check, so write them often, and make sure they’re in large amounts.
Our Vision at Zion is for GROWING and the first challenge we’ve set to help ourselves grow is the commitment to GIVING UNSELFISHLY. I can think of few things more challenging to give unselfishly than forgiveness, but if we are really interested in GROWING in our faith, then this a good place to begin…by giving forgiveness unselfishly.
When you and I forgive from the heart, we grow! We grow closer to one another, and we grow closer to God. Jesus makes it abundantly clear in his last words to Peter that God is really interested in our trouble with forgiveness, and God is concerned with helping us overcome it.
When you think about your own trouble with forgiveness, who comes to mind? Who might benefit this week, if you decided to crack open your forgiveness vault and give some of it away? Who might you know who needs for you to open up your forgiveness checkbook and write one great big check? Who is that person whose whole life might change, all because you trusted God enough to confront your own trouble with forgiveness and give some of it away?
Forgiveness isn’t like money…it’s not something we should save up and bank throughout our lives. Instead it’s something God wants us to spend frivolously, generously, unselfishly…every day. He did it for you and it made your troubles easier to bear…you can do it for someone else and do the exact same thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment