490 Gifts of Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-22 

Then Peter came and said to 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.” 

Christmas is such an amazing time of year. All around us there are signs Christmas. Christmas music playing in the mall. Christmas lights on the houses, as we drive down the street. People dressed in festive attire, and the occasional ugly sweater.  Even the decorated Christmas tree we have in our homes. We all have so much to be thankful for. Food on the table, a roof over our heads, and family and friends we can share our lives with. But this Christmas, there may be one gift missing underneath the Christmas tree. The gift of Forgiveness. 

In Acts 20:35 Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In this season of giving gifts and even exchanging gifts with those we love, let's not forget the ultimate gift Jesus Christ gave us, Forgiveness. He knew we needed it, before we even knew we needed it ourselves. That’s how much He loves us. That’s why He gave His life for us on Calvary. I love the first few lines of the song, Amazing Grace. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” None of us deserve God’s forgiveness, yet He gave His only begotten Son so we could be forgiven. Forgiveness is a two-way gift. Not only does it need to be given, but it must also be received. 

There are many people in the world right now waiting to receive forgiveness. But first we must give it to them, even though they do not deserve it. We may be right, but they still wronged us. We may have been minding our own business in the holiday traffic, and someone cuts us off. It's easy to want to repay evil for evil. But Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” That sounds like good advice, and that is where forgiveness comes in. None of us deserve it, but we all need it. 

This Christmas, let’s not forget to wrap the ultimate gift or gifts and put them under the tree. Maybe we should even wrap a few extra, and keep them in our car. You never know when an opportunity may arise to give that ultimate gift. It’s a gift we can give any time of year, not just during Christmas. Jesus said to forgive seventy times seven. The last time I did the math, that is a big number.  It totals...

490 Gifts of Forgiveness