Neville Turley

“My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; …“ Psalm 78:1,2 (NIV)

In the Oxford dictionary a parable is defined as a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual story.  It is used to telling effect in both the Old and New Testaments.

Parables were a distinctive feature in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The disciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables to the people.  Jesus explained that they had been given the secret of the Kingdom of God, but not everyone. Then Jesus added no matter how often parables were heard, they would not be understood unless one turned to God in repentance and received forgiveness.  (Mark 4:10-12)

Just as God forgives us our sins, we also need to forgive those who sin against us.  “Once,” said Jesus, “there was a king who discovered that a servant had robbed him of a large amount of money.  The king was furious and ordered that the servant and his family be sold as slaves to repay the debt.  The servant begged the king to forgive him.  The king was moved by his servant’s pleas and forgave him his debt.” (Matthew 18: 21-35)

As the man went away he met a servant who owed him a small amount of money.  He started choking him and demanded that the man repay him.  The man begged for time to settle his debt, but the servant would have none of it and had him thrown into jail.

When the king heard what had happened, he was furious “I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, yet you showed that man no mercy.” The king ordered his servant to be thrown into jail until the whole amount owing was repaid.

To forgive someone who has hurt us deeply and is in our debt is one of the hardest things to do.  But if we crave God’s mercy we must be prepared to show mercy to others.  Our Lord made that very clear when He taught us to pray – “Forgive us our sins as we forgive them that sin against us….”

If there is someone who has sinned against you, may God grant you the grace to do just that.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, May the Holy Spirit empower us to pattern our life on the teachings of Jesus and thus bring glory to your name.  Amen