Rose

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  - Matthew 18:21-22

Susie and I had the chance to see Pete Rose last Friday evening.  Well, from a bit of a distance anyway.  He was introduced at a reunion of the 1976 Cincinnati Reds “Big Red Machine” at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. We were there to see my Dodgers; unfortunately they fell to the Reds that evening.

Pete Rose.  Banned from baseball for life. Being cheered wildly by adoring fans.  Wearing a Reds jersey.  And.  Banned from baseball for life, for gambling on baseball games while managing the Reds.

The passage above is about forgiveness.  Not necessarily applicable to the Pete Rose situation; for we all have to pay the price in society for our sins.  I get that.  But the introduction of Pete Rose last week did get me thinking about forgiveness.

And grateful for the forgiveness I have experienced in my life.  And the struggle I have had in giving that same grace to others that Christ calls on his trusters and believers to give.  How many times am I to give forgiveness to others?  Once?  Seven times?

Jesus says I am to give it out seventy-seven times; or as some versions of the Bible read, seventy times seven. In other words, I am to give it out an infinite number of times, because Christ has forgiven me an infinite number of times.  What a struggle.

It shouldn’t be though.  If I really consider my transgressions and the pardon I have received…and countless number of times Christ has forgiven and continues to forgive… then seventy times seven really isn’t that difficult.  Consider it sharing forgiveness.  From God and through us.

You know, I pray that Pete Rose has found forgiveness. It is available to all; generously. I pray you have found that forgiveness too.  We all need it.