“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

-Matthew 18:21-22

On one occasion the disciples asked Jesus how many times they should forgive someone in one day, “seven?” It’s only a matter of time before you ask the Lord this same question. People will do dumb things; we are doing dumb things too, we just may not know it right now.

The number seven in Scripture represents completion or perfection. God rested the seventh day because everything was perfect. The disciples, no doubt, thought that forgiving seven times in one day was pretty generous. What was Jesus’ answer? “Seven times seventy.” Wow, that’s 490 times in one day! Another words, do whatever it takes to forgive and love others. That’s our forgiveness of each other, what about God’s forgiveness of us?
When I am encouraging someone to receive God’s forgiveness, I always go to this verse. If God tells us to forgive each other 490 times in one day, He has to be willing to forgive us that much, and more. We simply cannot outdo God. Besides, He is a doer of His own Word!

God’s seemingly limitless forgiveness is not a license to keep sinning; God always empowers us to put away sin. Romans 6:14 says, “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” But, for you who are still finding that place of victory, you need to know that God is not pushing you away. Allow the Lord to forgive you and to strengthen you, and always be quick to forgive others.