I will pay thee all

The insight I want to share from New Testament class this week is a lesson on forgiveness found in Matthew 18:23-35. This is the story of the master forgiving his servant of his debt, and of that same servant accusing a fellow servant of owing a debt. Knowing the context of this story makes it way more dramatic... Brother Griffin explained that 10,000 was just a substitution for a Greek word meaning myriad, or the biggest possible number, and he calculated out the math of how much debt the servant owed to his master... it ended up being billions of dollars, which would take him hundreds of thousands of years to pay off. So basically, an un-repayable debt. Yet, the master was immediately moved with compassion when the servant approached him and loosed him of it.
The wording implies that after the servant was forgiven he actively sought out his fellowservant and violently asked for his money to be repaid. When the servant uttered the exact same phrase his accuser had said earlier: "have patience and I will pay thee all" the servant did not show the same compassion, and instead threw him into prison.
When the lord heard of this, he approached the servant and asked him why he hadn't shown the same mercy that had been given to him. He then rebound him to his debt. The end of the story says "so likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
Brother Griffin pointed out that Christ has taken every single person's debt. The shame, the pressure, is all on Him. And when we hold a grudge, we are holding it against Christ because He has taken the responsibility for that person's wrongdoings. Looking at it that way really puts things in perspective. Christ has shielded us all from the brunt of other people's accusations. When we think of the mercy Christ has given us by forgiving us of all our wrongdoings, it should be easy for us to accept that He has done the same for everyone else as well. Instead of holding grudges, we should joyfully forgive, and show our love and appreciation for Christ's gift of mercy and grace. Without it we would all have a myriad of debts. Christ has spared us from that and we can never repay Him, but we can love and serve others. That is all He asks of us. There is not a number of times we need to forgive people (it's not 490) and if we make it a habit, we will have much happier, whole lives, with growth, progression, and meaningful relationships. Relationships bring so much joy into our lives, and Christ has shown us that even when people hurt us in some way, we can overcome it, and experience an increase in love. When we forgive others we not only build them up, we build ourselves up. I know that when I have chosen to let things go instead of seeking revenge, I have just felt free. All the leftover anger and other negative emotions just fade away.... That is the miracle of the Atonement.
cheers
Tamsyn