Luke 17; 4 ” If he sins against you seven times a day, and seven times a day turns back to you saying,” I am sorry,” forgive him.”
We are made in the image and likeness of God [ Gn 1 :23 ]. As disciples of Jesus, we try to be like Jesus in every aspect of our conduct [ Pt 1 : 15. In this way, we are like God, for Jesus is God and the exact Representation of the Father,s Being”[ Heb 1 : 3].
To be like God means to work, suffer, give, love, and forgive as God does. This means we must forgive seven times a day [ LK 17: 4] and seventy times seven times [ Mt 18 : 22] , for we and billions of others frequently offend God and He keeps forgiving us.
It is a conservative estimate to say that God forgives billions of times daily. That’s what ” seven means= an infinite number.
To be like God, we too must forgive repeatedly and always. We must forgive those closest to us. Who else has the chance to wrong us seven times a day? We must forgive others repeatingtedly for the worst of injustices, even for scandals [ LK 17 :].
Finally, we must forgive by God”s standards. His standards are not limited to just praying for or being nice to those who have hurt us; they also require giving offenders affection, gifts, and honor [ LK 1: 37]. “Nothing is impossible with God”.[ LK 1 : 37 ].
By God”s grace, forgive.
