Article January 16, 2006 Issue

'SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN'

BY BEV DEWINDT

How many times do I have to forgive—'til seven times? When the disciple Peter asked this of Jesus, the Master's answer indicated that seven times isn't enough. How about 490—seventy times seven (see Matt. 18:21, 22). Did his reply include a lot more than the larger number would indicate? Or was it perhaps the deeper quality of forgiveness that was needed?

I, for one, needed to learn more about forgiveness than what might be thought of as simply forgiving and forgetting. The only part that was hard for me was that the hurt had been done to someone other than myself—someone whom I dearly loved. Too, I knew that it wasn't good for me to allow a memory of injustices to remain in my thought, even rarely or briefly.

Most of us do—and I know I did—need to learn more about forgiveness. Human reasoning can result in forgiving and forgetting, which is better than not facing the challenge at all, but it isn't enough. I knew that the real forgiving isn't a matter of whitewashing unjust behavior of one person to another. For real healing to take place, and for any leftover remembrances to be eliminated, deep and conscientious prayer is required.