7 x 70 - a Thought and a Song About Forgiving

I think all of us have certain places or periods of our life that bring back bad memories and maybe some bitterness. Maybe it’s the house you grew up in, or the town. Maybe it’s from your childhood, teen years or somewhere in your adult years.

This song by Christ August ( which refers to Jesus’ answer to Peter about forgiveness – see below) really captures how important it is to forgive those who may have hurt us , or even those who we perceive have hurt us.

This is true of everyone in our lives – our brothers and sisters in Christ, friends, co-workers – even our enemies!. 

But this song refers specifically to family and these relationships are especially important.  The relationships we have with our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters and our spouses and children have a very large impact on our relationship with our Heavenly Father ( see Eph. 6 etc..) .

So is there some bitterness , anger or even hatred towards someone that we need to forgive ? Sometimes only the Holy Spirit can even truly reveal this to you.

And of course, the other person may never change, be sorry or even accept your forgiveness – but this move is for God and for you. It releases you from the bondage of bitterness and opens up your relationship with God and others in your life!

Enjoy the song here:   Chris August - 7 x 70

Mat 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
Mat 18:22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Read the parable that follows as well!

It should be clarified here that Jesus was not saying once you reach 490 times then you don't have to forgive anymore. 

Taken in context of the entire Bible, this is a figurative number to really say  - "indefinitely" or "infinitetly".

Peter may have come up with the number 7 in relation to this passage in Luke:

Luk 17:4

"And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

It is noteworthy ( without getting into any fanatical numerology) that it is commonly understood that the number 7 often represents "perfection" or "completeness" in the Bible.  This would make sense in this passage as well, as Jesus is talking about total, unending,  "perfect and complete" forgiveness.

Life is hard. God is good. So whats up?

***I wrote this as a youth devotional almost 3 years ago. What's funny is that now that I am a father, it rings even more true ( eg. the 2nd point )





Well we all learn that life is hard soon enough, life doesn’t seem fair either sometimes. I’ve been experiencing this lately a bit. The bitterness of life tends to set in – so often too early. Okay this devo is a little long but give it a chance :)

In my limited years on this planet I too have pondered the age old question: “Why do bad things happen when God is supposed to be good”. Let me be the first to say that I do not in any way have it all figured out – if I said I did, you ‘d probably stop reading this anyways. I do have a few thoughts that I’ve accumulated though and I guess I would like to share them tonight – for God’s glory I hope. There are three things I take into consideration when faced with this question.

1) Free will and sin. A lot of the garbage that goes on in our life and in the world is not God’s fault. One simple example on a world scale is that fact that there is food and enough to feed all humanity on this planet – but due to many reasons( a lot of them to do with corrupt governments in the third world) people are starving.

2) Don’t get me wrong - I don’t believe all suffering and illness on a personal level comes from sin – God is far more gracious than we give Him credit for. Here’s the thing guys and gals – for those of you wondering why God has let you go through what you are going through – try seeing it from His point of view – maybe he actually has our best interests at heart.

Sherry came home the other day and told me a story about one of her co-workers. This man and his wife and infant son were coming back from Vancouver to Vernon through the Coquihalla highway in the winter ( often dangerous if you know the area). It seems the child was in the “in-between” stage of having 2 different car seats – a super safe one for a younger kid and one more liberal one for an older child. Now the little boy had been traveling in the “big kid” car seat for most of the trip and was doing fine, it was dark, they were tired and the son was very cranky . For some reason though the father had a feeling about the car seat that night. He pulled over and insisted that the little boy go back into the “younger car seat” for extra safety – well this made the child furious – he threw a tantrum – the world was over as far as this kid was concerned. To be honest the man’s wife wasn’t too happy with him either – why bother the kid when he’s already cranky?. At any rate the father continued with the car seat change and set off driving again. It wasn’t long before they were rolling inside their car as it tumbled off the highway into the dark ditch. It took the full grown man 5 months to recover enough to come back to work and both parents believe that if it were not for the extra secure car seat - they’re baby may well not have lived. It turned out the child had not a scratch on him after the accident.

The point is this folks – when God allows us to go through something that to us seems uncomfortable – even horrible – He knows what He is doing and He is doing it with our best in mind – just like the father who wrestled his small son into the carseat.

I find that its often not right away that I understand why God allowed something in my life – its often in the long run that it makes more sense ( and it may not even be till heaven till we fully understand – cue faith)

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you. Isaiah 43:2


3) The last short point I want bring up is this - Jesus died for you. He went through unspeakable torment physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally - on the cross - just for you. So when a little ( or a whole lot ) of trouble comes your way – wouldn’t you believe that He has the best in mind for you? Cue trust.

Hbr 12:2
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hbr 12:3
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.