Father forgive me for I have sinned.

We have heard the expressions; "I'll never forgive you for that stunt, not as long as I live." We've heard the axiom, "Forgive and forget." We've even heard the plea. "Please forgive me, I'll never do it again, I promise." Asking for forgiveness and being willing to forgive are two of the strongest emotions in our Western civilization. Being forgiven cleanses the soul and makes us complete—we feel that all is OK again and everything is right with the world. Withholding forgiveness can be thought of a power play, giving us a deadly edge as well as imagined leverage.

Just what is the right, err change that to proper way to forgive anyone? Simon Peter was also vexed with this same question and comes up to Jesus: "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" (Matthew 18:21). The may have been an Old Testament adage; forgive seven times. The number seven is important in the bible, it is a prim number but it also shows completeness such as seven days of the week, seven deadly sins, the seventh son of the seventh son, or in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

In verse 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven." If you thought you were keeping track of the number of times your brother sinned against you Simon Peter, try keeping track of 490 times of forgiveness. You would loose count and find the task impossible. Jesus elaborates this again. "If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." (Luke 17:4) In essence we say forgive and forget—difficult but a very important aspect of our society.

K.