Lesson 6: Forgive, As Often As It Takes

"Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying 'I repent,' you must forgive them.” (Luke 17:4 ).

One mother writes: When our daughter was born five years ago, I became very ill with an infection that almost killed me. One doctor didn’t believe that I was having problems and mocked me. He rudely sent us home without bothering to find out what was wrong. So two days later, I was back in the hospital, screaming, with the most intense pain of my life. It took them another 12 hours to find out what was going on. This event led to other health complications. Needless to say, my family and I have had to work hard to forgive that doctor.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12). So we know that God will forgive us when we forgive others. But it has been a struggle to follow the advice of Apostle Paul, in this situation, to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, [and] anger” (Ephesians 4:31). In fact, sometimes when we remember the situation, we become so upset about it that we have to forgive the doctor all over again! But we will forgive as often as we have to. Jesus taught, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (John 20:23), and we don’t want a lack of forgiveness hanging over our lives.

Genuine forgiveness is hard. It involves sacrifice on the part of those who have been wronged. But St. Paul instructed us, "Imitate God in everything you do" (Ephesians 5:1), and our Lord "poured out [His blood] as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many" (Matthew 26:28). If we are going to be like Jesus Christ, we must be willing to sacrifice and forgive – many, many times, if necessary. When we walk in His footsteps, others can learn that the Lord is "so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love" (Psalm 86:5).


In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus makes forgiveness a priority by linking our asking Him to forgive us with our forgiving others. Because of what Jesus teaches us in the Bible, I want to encourage you to include those who have wronged you as you pray for God to bless the people around you. If a teacher, fellow employee, colleague, supervisor or a family member abuses you, your natural responses might include fighting back, silently cursing them, or keeping bad thoughts about them. Jesus gives us an alternative consisting of two parts: First, forgive the person in your heart. Second, pray God's blessing or peace on the person and situation. You may experience offenses like these on a random basis, or they might happen regularly (for example, where a husband abuses a wife, or when you are persecuted for your faith). It is difficult enough to forgive and pray when it happens occasionally. When this abuse happens regularly, you should still forgive and pray, but I urge you to also get help and advice from a trusted friend, elder or counselor.

A Helpful Tip: Sometimes the things that happen to us are so bad and it makes us so angry that we feel we cannot forgive. Think about Jesus' suffering after His arrest, leading up to His death on the cross. He did this to pay the penalty that comes from your sin and mine.

Prayer today: Heavenly Father, help me to forgive [name that person] the same way You have already forgiven me.