Life is a lot like bumper cars at an amusement park. You get in your car knowing that you will get hit . . . you just don’t know how hard. And when you get hit you step on the accelerator to chase whoever hit you, and hope to bump that person harder than they have bumped you.

That may be a fun strategy for bumper cars, but it’s a terrible strategy for life. When you get bumped in life, bumping back only makes matters worse and in the end everyone suffers damage.

Jesus had a better strategy: forgive those who have ‘bumped’ you. Like Peter, we may wonder how many times we have to forgive. When Peter asked Jesus, “Up to seven times?” Jesus answered “Up to seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:21-22). In other words, there are no limits to grace. We should always be ready to forgive. Why? In the story of the forgiving master, Jesus explained that we forgive not because our offenders deserve it but because we’ve been forgiven. He says, “I forgave you . . . . Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (vv.32-33).

Since we are among those who’ve been forgiven much, let’s stop the damage and share that blessing with others.

Author

Joe Stowell

Topics

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