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\u201cThen the master called the servant in. \u2018You wicked servant,\u2019 he said, \u2018I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn\u2019t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?\u2019 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. \u201cThis is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.\u201d (Matthew 18:32-35)

As noted Sunday in our sermon\u2014one of the key elements of Christian obedience required of us is the act of forgiveness. \xa0That is: to forgive others as we ourselves have been forgiven by God. \xa0That is the thrust of the parable Jesus tells. \xa0

The Great King, who we assume to be God, forgives an infinitely massive debt owed by one of his servants. \xa0In turn, the servant goes out and demands\u2014through personal violence and imprisonment\u2014repayment of a much smaller debt from one of his fellow servants. \xa0We discover through his actions therefore, that the servant who the King forgave his debt was not in the least bit changed, transformed, or grateful for the gift he had just received.

We learn from this parable not just that we are required to forgive, but also that learning to forgive requires transformation. \xa0It is not our default state. \xa0There is nothing normal or intuitive about forgiveness. \xa0So unless we are transformed by the forgiveness we ourselves have received from God\u2014we will fail in this test of obedience.

A question then. \xa0How mindful are you of God\u2019s forgiveness in your everyday life and interactions? \xa0

So many of us have harshly critical inner dialogues with ourselves, judging our every action\u2014accurately or not. \xa0Others of us are constantly worried what people think of us for the things we say, do, or choose. \xa0Others simply feel burdened by the responsibilities and expectations that bear down on us from everywhere. \xa0Others still might bear the weight of something that we\u2019ve done wrong\u2014true sin in our lives. \xa0Whatever the case for you, how mindful are you in those moments of the Holy Spirit\u2019s constant, merciful nudging that whispers the words \u201cforgiven in Christ\u201d into your life? \xa0This is what it means to have one\u2019s identity in Christ. \xa0To be forgiven. \xa0

Becoming aware of God\u2019s constant, infinite work of forgiveness through Christ in our lives can free and unburden us from so much guilt, judgement, expectation, bitterness, anxiety, and stinginess of heart. \xa0It is impossible for that awareness and reception of God\u2019s forgiveness and mercy not to transform us into merciful and forgiving people. \xa0At least, that\u2019s what our church\u2019s theology says. \xa0 \xa0

In Matthew\u2019s gospel, Jesus drives home the point with a warning. \xa0You must forgive as you have been forgiven. \xa0You must be transformed. \xa0This is central to what it means to be a Christian. \xa0

The good news, is that Jesus made the first move already by forgiving you. \xa0Will you receive it? \xa0Will you come to know what his forgiving mercy means in your daily life so that it can transform you? \xa0And will you likewise become an agent of God\u2019s forgiveness in this world? \xa0If so, you may just find that you\u2019re not the only one being transformed\u2026\xa0

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