Two women with a long-standing friendship had a serious falling out. As a result, for the next several years they refused to speak to one another. Ultimately one of the women became severely ill. Remembering her old friend, she invited her to her bedside and there they made amends. They buried the hatchet and forgave each other. It was a joyous reunion.
But when the visiting woman was leaving the sick woman said to her re-united friend, “I want you to know that today, I did forgive you, but should I happen to get well and recover, then I want you to know that we never had this conversation.”
Asking forgiveness and giving forgiveness is never an easy thing to do. But, as Christians it is a necessary and a needed thing to do.
On one occasion, Peter came to Jesus and asked Him, “‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'” (Matthew 18:21-22). In other words, as often as it takes!
“A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine showed an exasperated father saying to his prodigal son, ‘This is the fourth time we’ve killed the fatted calf.’ God does that over and over in our lifetime.” (Bruce Larson, Setting Men Free).
Hopefully the sick woman in our story had time and opportunity to reconsider and from the depth of her heart to truly forgive her old friend before she died.
As a born-again children of God, it is of paramount importance that we forgive, no matter how often or how many times it takes. You see, the Biblical principle is that because God forgave us, we ought also to forgive one another.
At the conclusion of the “Lord’s Prayer” Jesus said, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others , then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15