Today’s Reading: Matthew 18:21-35
Matthew 18:33 — Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?
God promises the freedom of forgiveness. What are the wages of sin? Death (Romans 6:23). One sin, one act of disobedience by Adam and Eve, brought physical and spiritual death into the world. All the pain and suffering, wars and diseases, murders and bullying, cheating and betrayal, poverty and racism, are the result of one man’s original sin.
God could have ended the human race after Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, but God had mercy on him. Instead of requiring Adam’s death, the blood of an innocent animal was shed so that Adam could live. An animal died in Adam’s place, so that by the mercy of God, Adam could be forgiven.
The sins of man had separated them from God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in the place of the entire human race so that God could have mercy on all sinners and offer them grace for salvation. The blood of the innocent, sinless Savior was shed to pay the price for every sin of the human race, so that we can all be forgiven and reconciled to God.
Paul writes that Jesus became sin—guilty—for us so that we might become the righteousness—be made right—with God in Him. Forgiveness sets us free from the guilt, the shame, and the power of sin the hold us in bondage to disobedience.
We are all sinners, always needing mercy and grace from God. Your spouse, your family members, and everyone else you know is a sinner who needs mercy and forgiveness. God has already forgiven our insurmountable debt of sin, and yet we often say we cannot forgive someone. When we do not forgive, we put ourselves in a prison.
Doctors know that our health suffers when we are unwilling to forgive. Don’t you want to be physically and spiritually healthy today? Forgive. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. Forgive God. Let go of grudges and bitterness and be set free.
05/15/2024 Devotional
“God has already forgiven our insurmountable debt of sin, and yet we often say we cannot forgive someone. When we do not forgive, we put ourselves in a prison.”
Hating and enmity someone makes me sick, and getting old. It greatly reduces immunity system. Living with anger is the same as continuously punishing myself even though the other person was at fault.
05/15/2024 묵상
“하나님께서는 우리가 지은 죄를 용서해 주셨는데도 우리는 종종 다른이를 용서할 수 없다고 말한다. 용서하지 않으면 우리는 감옥에 갇히게 됩니다.”
누군가를 미워하고 증오하는 것은 내가 나를 아프게 하고 병들고 늙게 한다. 면역력을 엄청나게 떨어뜨린다.분노를 품고 살아가는 것은 잘못은 상대방이 했음에도 불구하고 내가 나를 지속적으로 벌을 주는 것이나 마찬가지다.