Luke 17:1-10 What Comes Before Forgiveness

Jesus began preparing His disciples for a time when He would no longer be with them.  They were going to find that occasions to stumble are “an unfortunate part of life.”  We sure don’t want to cause others to stumble!

My commentary said, “These little ones” doesn’t mean just children, but also new believers.  Causing them to stumble is so serious to God that we’d be better off drowning than facing Him!

Jesus also foresaw that we might be the ones sinned against by other believers.  “First, we must have a personal concern for each other and obey His warning [to do all we can to keep one another from sinning] … We should give a loving, private rebuke to them.”  This is the opposite of feeling hurt inside, nursing a grudge, and then telling others what happened to us, my commentary said.  “Our aim is not to embarrass or hurt the offender, but to encourage him or her to repent.”  If they do, we must forgive.  And, we must be in the habit of forgiving, ready to forgive others multiple times, for one day we may want them to forgive us.

“Our obedience in forgiving others shows that we are trusting God to take care of the consequences, handle the possible misunderstandings, and work everything out for our good and His glory.”

“True forgiveness always involves pain; somebody has been hurt and there is a price to pay in healing the wound.  Love motivates us to forgive, but faith activates that forgiveness so that God can use it to work blessings in the lives of His people.”

“Not forgiving becomes an opportunity for sin.”

“It is good to have faith to do the difficult and the impossible, but it is essential that we have faith to do even the routine tasks our Master has committed to us.  Privileges must always be balanced with responsibilities.”

“The fact that Jesus will reward His servants is wholly a matter of God’s grace.  We do not deserve anything because we have obeyed Him and served Him.”

“There are two extremes to avoid:  1)  merely doing our duty in a lavish way because we have to, or 2) doing our duty because we hope to gain a reward…. Both extremes are seen in the attitudes of the elder brother was miserably obedient, always hoping that his father would let him have a party with his friends.”

Father, thank You for reminding me that forgiveness always involves pain – that somebody has been hurt and there’s a price to pay in healing the wound.  Help me to activate that forgiveness by my faith.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford