Verse of the Day for September 15

Jesus answers Peter's arithmetic with a story. Verse 23 begins with Therefore, and what follows is a parable about a king which would take account of his servants.

Peter had asked how often to forgive. Jesus moves the conversation to a royal accounting, where the first servant owes the king far more than he could ever pay. Before you can settle how often to forgive others, you need to see the size of your own account.

The answer to how often is hidden inside how much. Someone who knows what he has been released from finds it hard to keep a tight count on anyone else.

Forgiveness often happens in a kind of waiting room. You have decided to release someone, but your feelings have not caught up. The person may not have apologised. Nothing visible has changed. You sit there, so to speak, waiting for your heart to be called in.

If you are literally in a waiting room today, at a clinic or an embassy or a bank, use the time. Think about the account God has settled for you. Then think of one person whose smaller debt you are still holding. The king's mercy came first. Yours is allowed to follow, even at the pace of a slow queue.

The size of your own debt makes it harder to count someone else's.

Your feelings are allowed to catch up with your decision.