daily bible readings

Listen afresh the parable of the unmerciful servant told by Jesus in Matthew 18:21–35. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The principle in the parable is, at the kernel, the very same principle that John is talking about in 1 John 4:19-20. If we receive the love of God through Jesus, we should be ready and willing to share that love. Even more so, when we realise that God didn’t love us when we were good and wholesome but, rather, when we were steeped in sin and bound for destruction. As Romans 5:8 declares, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!”

But John takes the concept one step further. If we have truly received the love of God through Jesus we will love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Conversely, he tells us that if we hate them, we are not living in God’s love. Like the unmerciful servant in Jesus’ parable, hate shows that we have not truly received or comprehended the love of God given in Christ Jesus.

In fact, the true love of Christ in us creates a hatred for hating. Hating our brothers and sisters in Christ will be something we detest because God loved us even while we were sinners.

Over my almost 4 decades of Christian existence, I have seen far too many believers (and 1 is too many!!) hating each other and feeling self-justified because they were hurt or wronged or let down by the other believer. Such hatred is the way of the world, not the way of Christ Jesus. I let Jesus down. I wronged Him. I hurt Him. Even so, He loved me and gave His very life for me. This is the kind of love that I am called, commanded and empowered to show my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

If I fail to show this kind of love and explode like a mini-volcano every time I don’t get what I want or when I am wronged or let down, how will the world know that we are Jesus’ disciples? If they see nothing but worldly love among us, how will they recognise our Lord and Saviour dwelling in our midst? If I live in a worldly kind of love that simply loves those who love me and are kind to me, I am nothing more than the unmerciful servant of Jesus’ parable.

Prayer:

Adoration:

• Adore God that He is love
• Adore the Lord for He loved us when we were unlovable.

Confession:

• Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks:

• Thank God that He is willing to shed His gracious love lavishly upon you.
• Thank God that you have opportunity to show real, practical love to others.

Supplication:

• Ask the Lord to grow everyone in your church so richly and so deeply that all vestiges of hate, anger, unforgiveness etc are evaporated as the love of Jesus grows among you.
• Pray that reconciliation would happen in your church where, and if, needed.

Discussion Questions

1. What is love?
2. What is hate?
3. If the two are not allowed to dwell together in a Christian, how do we deal with sin in other Christians and being sinned against?