Article | 11.12.2024 - 4:10 pm

The Kingdom of Heaven Is Taken by the Force of Forgiveness

Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive the brother who wronged him and whether it would be seven times. Jesus replied that it is up to 70 times seven (Matthew 18:21). The result of this calculation is 490 times, but this means that we must forgive infinitely, just as we need forgiveness at all times.

Even if a person has wronged you, you need to forgive them, and when we live in the Kingdom of God and are the Church of the Lord Jesus, we forgive infinitely.

Paul was full of the Holy Spirit, yet he claimed that he was a miserable man and did not deserve the great revelations of God. A thorn was also placed in him so he would not forget he was a man. So, no matter how faithful and loyal we are to God, we are a “house of clay.” Even though the Holy Spirit lives in us, we are still flawed.

Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who forgave his servant’s debt of ten thousand talents. However, this same servant did not forgive the debt of his fellow servant, who owed him only a few talents (Matthew 18:21-35). How, then, can a person who acts like this be forgiven?

The first of the Ten Commandments is to love God above all things, and the second is to love your neighbor (Matthew 22:39). As Jesus revealed and is in Matthew 11:12, Heaven is taken by violence, and this aggressiveness has to be directed against your will, such as forgiving.

The Kingdom of God is within those who listen and obey the Word of God, and that is why Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer: “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). We, therefore, have to practice forgiveness. Even if we are flawed, God gives us all the conditions so that we can live permanently in communion with Him.