Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Forgiveness (from Tuesday)

Matthew 18:21 The NRSV translation may surprise you here. Peter asks, "...if another member of the church sins against me..." The Greek word aldephos, normally translated "brother" is used in Matthew 18 Testament to show kinship among a group of like minded believers. (see verses 15-18) This connotation interests me. Webster's online dictionary tells us that the word "forgive" comes from the two Anglo-Saxon words that mean to give wholly. It seems to mean that when someone has wronged me, I give them pardon without holding anything back to bring up later. If I "forgive" someone multiple times and then say, "This time was the straw that broke the camel's back" then I have been keeping a "straw's worth" of offense each time. Jesus says that's not the way to do it. We are to give our pardon wholly, every time a fellow believer offends us. Let's count straws. What small offenses do you find difficult to pardon wholly?