Weekly Devotion with Pastor Mark ✦ “How often should I forgive?”

Peter asked Jesus that question two thousand years ago, and most of us have asked it since. This week Pastor Mark takes up Jesus’ surprising answer — and what it means to stop keeping score.

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Peter came and said to [Jesus], “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” — Matthew 18:21–22

Peter asks what I think is a very important question—one we have probably asked ourselves from time to time: How often should I forgive?

It is clear that no relationship, and no community, can last very long without the regular practice of forgiveness. And yet, forgiveness can still be one of the most difficult things we are asked to do.

Our readings this week do not let us off the hook.

Again and again, the lessons remind us that being a disciple of Jesus requires us to develop an expansive perspective on forgiveness. We are invited to see beyond our own limited understanding of what is fair and instead to see the world through the lens of God’s abundant and unimaginable grace.

The psalmist reminds us that God “[has] not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). In Jesus’ parable, a king forgives an enormous debt—far beyond anything the debtor could possibly repay (Matthew 18:23–27). And then we are challenged to extend that same grace to one another. With Peter, Jesus teaches us to stop keeping score.

That is not an easy thing to do.

Human forgiveness is often complicated by surrounding circumstances, social pressures, and very real emotional wounds. Again and again, we fall back on our limited human understanding of what is “fair.” We want forgiveness to be proportional. We want people to earn it. We want repentance to be sincere and consequences to be appropriate.

And then we encounter the story of Joseph and his brothers.

It would be easy to conclude that Joseph’s brothers really did not deserve forgiveness. They were the ones who sold their own brother into slavery. Even their plea for forgiveness seems to be shaped by fear and self-interest rather than genuine repentance (Genesis 50:15–17).

And yet Joseph takes the wider view. He recognizes that the story is ultimately not about his brothers’ intentions or what they deserve. It is about what God is doing.

Joseph tells them, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph’s response does not erase what happened. It does not pretend that the harm was insignificant or that his brothers’ actions were acceptable. Instead, Joseph refuses to allow their actions to have the final word.

That is the broadened perspective of forgiveness.

God’s forgiveness is not limited by our calculations of what is fair or what someone deserves. God’s grace is larger than our scorekeeping.

So what does this new, broadened perspective look like in the lives of Christians and congregations?

Paul offers us a very practical glimpse in our reading from Romans. He writes: “Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat, for God has welcomed them.” (Romans 14:3)

Paul reminds us that Christian community is not built around everyone getting everything right. It is built around the recognition that God has welcomed us.

And if God has welcomed us, then we are called to share that same good news of welcome in all that we say and do.

Perhaps that is what Jesus is getting at when he tells Peter to forgive not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Jesus is not asking Peter to keep a bigger scorecard. He is asking him to put the scorecard down.

Because ultimately, forgiveness is not about counting how many times we have forgiven someone.

It is about living from the reality that God has already forgiven us.

And when we begin there, our perspective changes. We become a little more generous with grace, a little less concerned with what is fair, and a little more willing to make room for one another.

That is good news for us—and good news for every community that seeks to live as the body of Christ.

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Where is God inviting you to put the scorecard down this week? Sit with that question, and join us Sunday as we hear these readings together.

📍 Lutheran Church of the Redeemer · 731 Peachtree St NE, Midtown Atlanta Worship Sundays · All are welcome.