NT Journey--Matthew 18
The Humility of Forgiveness
If you look closely, Matthew 18 combined two themes we don't often associate with each other. Humility and forgiveness. In the first part of the chapter, Jesus uses children as an object lesson. We place a lot of emphasis on our children these days. Parent's lives are rule by their kid's activities. Youth is the most coveted characteristic in life today. But it wasn't always that way.
In Jesus' day, children were certainly valued, but they didn't have many rights or much say in anything. At best they were along for the ride. At worst, they were the lowest class of society. When Jesus says, "...whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest int eh Kingdom of Heaven," it could mean any number of things, but I think the most important has to do with our rights.
Rights are important. Campaigns for human rights and civil rights have gone a long way to straightening out some of society's ills. On the other hand, we can often become too focused on our rights. Ultimately, clamoring for our rights can be a very selfish attitude.
One example of this is in the area of forgiveness. It takes a certain amount of humility to forgive. When I refuse to forgive, it's because I refuse to give up my rights. "I don't deserve this." "I won't let her continue to treat me like this" are phrases that can come out of the mouth of or at least go through the mind of people who won't forgive. Kids could rarely say they deserved anything, after all, they were just kids. They didn't have great expectations for how people would treat them.
When I have the humility of a child (at least in Jesus' day), I don't have high expectations for what I deserve or don't deserve. I'm not surprised when I don't get my way because I don't expect it. I'm not shocked when people don't listen to me because I don't demand it. I have the humility to allow whatever place I have to be my place. And when I do that, I allow God to put me where He wants me to be.
When I refuse to forgive, I also refuse to remember my own sin and how many times I've needed forgiveness. It's easy to always point at the other person and how awful they are. Well it may be true, but I find it a little harder to accuse when I recognize my own need for forgiveness. I might feel hypocritical.
If Jesus is about restoration and reconciliation, then that should also be our goal. Relationships are messy. People will continue to let us down, but in forgiveness, we reach for a way to wipe off the mess and see people for who they really are. And isn't that how we want others to see us?
If you look closely, Matthew 18 combined two themes we don't often associate with each other. Humility and forgiveness. In the first part of the chapter, Jesus uses children as an object lesson. We place a lot of emphasis on our children these days. Parent's lives are rule by their kid's activities. Youth is the most coveted characteristic in life today. But it wasn't always that way.
In Jesus' day, children were certainly valued, but they didn't have many rights or much say in anything. At best they were along for the ride. At worst, they were the lowest class of society. When Jesus says, "...whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest int eh Kingdom of Heaven," it could mean any number of things, but I think the most important has to do with our rights.
Rights are important. Campaigns for human rights and civil rights have gone a long way to straightening out some of society's ills. On the other hand, we can often become too focused on our rights. Ultimately, clamoring for our rights can be a very selfish attitude.
One example of this is in the area of forgiveness. It takes a certain amount of humility to forgive. When I refuse to forgive, it's because I refuse to give up my rights. "I don't deserve this." "I won't let her continue to treat me like this" are phrases that can come out of the mouth of or at least go through the mind of people who won't forgive. Kids could rarely say they deserved anything, after all, they were just kids. They didn't have great expectations for how people would treat them.
When I have the humility of a child (at least in Jesus' day), I don't have high expectations for what I deserve or don't deserve. I'm not surprised when I don't get my way because I don't expect it. I'm not shocked when people don't listen to me because I don't demand it. I have the humility to allow whatever place I have to be my place. And when I do that, I allow God to put me where He wants me to be.
When I refuse to forgive, I also refuse to remember my own sin and how many times I've needed forgiveness. It's easy to always point at the other person and how awful they are. Well it may be true, but I find it a little harder to accuse when I recognize my own need for forgiveness. I might feel hypocritical.
If Jesus is about restoration and reconciliation, then that should also be our goal. Relationships are messy. People will continue to let us down, but in forgiveness, we reach for a way to wipe off the mess and see people for who they really are. And isn't that how we want others to see us?
Labels: children, forgivness, Jesus, Kingdom of Heaven, Matthew 18, New Testament
posted by Kory at
1:27 PM
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