Free To ForgiveSample

Day 4

The forgiven servant exits the king’s presence and finds a fellow servant who owes him money. The sum in question is pocket change compared to the debt just erased by his master. But instead of emulating his master’s kind, gracious, forgiving character, the servant abuses and assaults his fellow servant, grabbing him by the throat. He demands every penny.

The man pleads for mercy—just as the servant had done a few moments before—but the ungrateful servant, forgiven the debt of a lifetime, throws another man into debtor’s prison until he pays up his pennies.

But someone saw this great injustice.

The other members of the king’s staff watch this servant’s ungrateful act, and their hearts break. Was the second servant’s debt legitimate—to the point he could legally be thrown in jail? Yes. But the unmerciful servant’s petty demands were so far from the compassion of the king, so far from his kind forgiveness, that a report must be made to the king.

Unsurprisingly, the king is furious. He summons the servant and condemns him for not showing his fellow man the compassion and forgiveness he had been shown.

The king then orders the merciless man who had received abundant mercy to be delivered over to the torturers until the previously forgiven debt should be paid.

A rough story. But Jesus wasn’t done telling it yet. In fact, the main point of the story was still yet to be revealed.

This is an excerpt from The Freedom Factor: Finding Peace by Forgiving Others… and Yourself, by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson with Mark E. Strong. Used by permission.