The Daily: Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Matthew 18:21-35 (NRSV, The Message)

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the churchg sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-sevenh times.
Matthew 18:21-22 (NRSV)

Forgiveness is one of the most misunderstood practices of faith. It is not forgetting, excusing, or pretending that harm didn’t happen. It is not staying in abusive or unjust situations. Forgiveness is not about minimizing the offense—it’s about maximizing the possibility of freedom. To forgive is to decide that bitterness will not have the final word.

When Peter asked how many times to forgive, he thought he was being generous. Jesus’ answer stretches forgiveness into a way of life. Forgiveness does not make injustice disappear; it makes space for us to live without being chained to cycles of revenge. It is less about the offender’s worthiness and more about the kind of person we choose to be. To forgive is to claim abundance in a world that often teaches scarcity, to declare that love has more power than resentment.

Reflection Question: Where is God inviting me to shift from a spirit of revenge to a spirit of release?

Prayer: God of mercy, free me from cycles of resentment, and shape me into a person of forgiveness. Amen.