We all know people suck. The people you love the most will always wrong you in some way. Random people will bug you. Weird internet people will be mean to you. People are sinful. We can live our lives annoyed and mad at everyone, living a miserable life.
Think about the people who really annoy you. I'm not talking about Aerosmith or the NY Yankees. I'm talking about the people you've interacted with that have done something to you that you didn't like and wish they would die a terrible death or fall into a tiger trap or be forced to watch Matrix 2 AND 3.
Search your heart. You'll find people. And if Christ can forgive us of a lifetime's worth of sin, we should be able to forgive someone of a few instances of sin. If we can't then, we aren't quite grateful for Christ's forgiveness are we?
This is how Christ explains it.
MT 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
MT 18:22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
MT 18:23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. [24] As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. [25] Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
(Conrad's note: We are that dude who owes Christ like the ten thousand talents, which is like ten million dollars)
MT 18:26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. `Be patient with me,' he begged, `and I will pay back everything.' [27] The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
(Conrad's note: That's when we accepted Christ as your Savior and asked Him for forgiveness)
MT 18:28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. `Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
(Conrad's note: Now we have someone who owes us 2 bucks and are mean to them. Compared to the sins we rack up towards Christ, the sins someone can commit against you are teeny-tiny. It just feels big to us because we are more sinful than loving.)
MT 18:29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, `Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
MT 18:30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. [31] When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
(Conrad's Note: That's what happens when we don't forgive someone and are mean to them or harbor ill will or shut them out of your life.)
MT 18:32 "Then the master called the servant in. `You wicked servant,' he said, `I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. [33] Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' [34] In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
MT 18:35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Yeah, so don't take Christ's forgiveness and throw it back in His face. It's bad.
So I guess it's time to forgive the Wachowski brothers for Matrix 2 and 3. I will try. Pray for me.
