Matthew 18:28-35
"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
When you read this parable, you must wonder whether a person like servant could possibly be a Christian. Unfortunately, it's totally possible. We must understand a few things here. First, Christians are merely sinners who have received God's grace. We are not worthy of the grace; we received it not because we were better than others or we already knew how to love others. We don't have anything, and we are no better; everything we have is from the grace of God.
Second, Christians must strive to know God more. When a person first becomes a Christian, he becomes a spiritual baby, so he must work on knowing God more so that his life will become more mature. He must know the God is full of grace and mercy, so that he can live out God's grace and mercy. He must also know that god is righteous so that he won't dare to do whatever he wants. He must obey the righteous and holy Lord so that his love can be transformed.
Third, Christians must strive to know ourselves more. We must know that we are filled with darkness, and there's nothing we can boast about ourselves; all we can do is again and again to give ourselves to the hands of Jesus, and be willing to let Him use us.
Fourth, Christians must become more mature in our life. We need to let the Holy Spirit work inside us to change us; don't ever say that since Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so we should always be the same as well. The Lord loves you, and because He loves so much He can't help but to change you. He will surely mold your life to become more like him. As Christians, we might be like this servant now, but we must ask God not to leave us constantly in this miserable state; rather, help us to mature continuously.
Finally, the Lord gave us a conclusion in verse 35: "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart." We need to know that our Lord is also the Lord of judgment; if you hope God will treat you gracefully, you must treat your brothers and sisters gracefully. Are you will to follow the Lord's example starting today?
Pray with Pastor Tong
Lord, may your Spirit touch us and motivate us again, let us learn to love our brothers and sisters, and even love our enemies. May your will, Lord, be satisfied through our lives. Open our eyes and let us see our needs, so that we may see for your help and you will become our strength. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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