I never quite realised the personality of Peter…
He is quick to judge, quick to anger, quick to answer… So his question to Jesus is really in character:
“…Later Peter approached Jesus and said, “How many times do I have to forgive my fellow believer who keeps offending me? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven times!”
(Matthew 18: 21-22)
Jesus then follows up with the story of the guy that owes the king an insane amount of money… the king forgives the debt but then the servant (freshly released from his debts) throws another guy in jail because he couldn’t pay the debt owed.
The king hears about it, flips his lid and it’s the end of freedom for guy #1
If I am allowed to take this scripture completely out of context… bear with me a minute.
Apart from the obvious lesson here, the underlying message is: Whatever I have given you is not only yours to use but also to share.
Here it was forgiveness, complete and completely. Without reservations… But think about the other gifts God has given you?
Did He give you an animal in the Bush? Easy to share the meat. Someone brings you a box of doughnuts? Everybody gets a doughnut. With a good harvest or a good year, easy to share the money.
But what about your other gifts?
Did God make you a good husband or Father, are you sharing that gift with the young men in your sphere of influence?
Did God give you a good wife? Are you encouraging her to teach the young ladies of the neighborhood?
What about suffering? Was it a hard year? Are you sharing and giving the gift of Hope? Are you giving Faith and Faithfulness away by constantly challenging those who need it to praise God? To seek God in all?
It’s actually mind-blowingly simple! Any skill you have, you can teach, and any gift you received, you can gift to another! But this is the cool part:
If you give your spiritual sword away, you still keep it. If you give grace, you keep grace. Anything given in love multiplies into abundance…
What use is a bank account in the billions if it doesn’t seed future generations? What use is a gift of prophecy if I never open my mouth to give the message? What use is the power of intercession, of being in Godly VIP protection services if I never stand in the gap, shields up and weapons drawn?
Every gift is to be used, shared, and imparted without reservation.
The devil doesn’t fear the warrior with the shiny sword and breastplate, he trembles at the one that walks to the front of the battle, armour dented and scratched from a hundred battles fought and won.
