“We let the world influence our thinking too much. The ideas and ideals presented by secular media have replaced God’s truth in our minds and hearts, and we’re not even aware of it. When we seek to obey God, we unknowingly do so in a worldly way. This is true of forgiveness as well.

“We know God wants us to forgive. But when we do so, we use the world’s idea of forgiveness as our model. The world says forgive because it’s good for you. It makes you feel good and gives you peace of mind. It reduces your stress. It may even increase your lifespan. Forgiveness is about you.

“But when God commands us to forgive, He offers Himself as the model. He want us to forgive others in the same way He forgave us. He didn’t do so to make Himself feel better. He didn’t forgive us to gain some peace of mind for Himself. His forgiveness actually increased His sufferings because Jesus had to die to to make it possible. It was costly—painful. God forgave you because He had compassion on you. He truly loves you—He cares for you, and He sincerely wants the relationship between you and Himself restored. That’s what your forgiveness is to be about.”

The next part of my series on Jesus’ parables is now available. This is on the The Unforgiving Servant. This series is based on messages I’ve given at Beatty Baptist Church.