Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' Matt. 18:33 (NIV)

Jesus spoke often and at length about forgiveness. In the passage from which this verse is taken, Jesus gives a parable about a servant who goes after the servants under him for payment after the man has been given a great debt. There are times we read Jesus’ words and are overcome with emotion because of His great love for us. If you read about the woman caught in the act of adultery and dragged before Jesus you can’t help but become emotional if you put yourself in her place.

Where The Red Fern Grows is a wonderful story of a young boy who raises two coon dogs. He loves those dogs and they love him. The story has ups and downs, sorrows and joys. Any man who reads the book and has lived a life that included hunting and dogs will identify with the boy. And, having done so will shed a few tears –nobody will see those tears because he is a man.

To fully understand forgiveness you have to be able to identify with the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. What we know in this life of forgiveness is limited to human interaction. There is a vast difference between the relationship man has with man and the one man has with God.

With man that which is forgiven is easily remembered and the hard feelings associated with the wrong are still just beneath the surface. When God forgives there is neither the wrong is remembered or the hard feelings. He said He remembers them no more and they are removed as far as the east is from the west.

So when Jesus says that we should forgive as He forgave us it is a tall order. We, if we are sincere about forgiving, will strive to fulfill Jesus’ teaching. We need to work on learning to forget.