22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
We as disciples are told to forgive each other 70 times 7 which in Hebrew was symbolic of infinity so it appears Jesus was saying was that we are to be infinitely forgiving.Lamech, a descendant of Cain, was one of the most wicked and vengeful people in the scriptures. Known well by the people in Judea in the time of Christ.23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
Jesus was saying that we should be as forgiving as Lamech was vengeful, that we should be the most righteous character in scripture rather than the most wicked.And to do that we must purge our vengeance and anger from our characters.34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Jesus forgave the men who beat and crucified Him, He begged God that they be forgiven. Could any of us forgive our murderers? Or those that killed our loved ones? Thing is vengeance, anger, and hate are not just toxic but they poison not only ourselves but our relationships because we are attached to others.Forgiveness releases both the one forgiven from the burden of wrong doing, and it frees the one forgiving from holding on to their anger, hate and vengeance.Vengeance is like throwing hot coals at the person you hate; the only one who gets burned is you. It's also been said that hate is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.But forgiveness lightens our burdens, it releases us from the bondage of infinite punishment in retaliation for limited wrongs.Forgiveness is not easy, it may feel impossible and unfair but it is necessary to avoid stunting our spiritual development.Forgiveness does not mean that any wrong has been condoned it means that we have moved on, and one cannot move forward in life while holding on to the past. We ought to live in the moment not in the past.
Forgiveness is part of finding yourself and discovering the true nature of others, that true nature is of divine origin.
