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 "Then
came Peter and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? Jesus saith
unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until
seventy times seven." (Matt. 18:21, 22)
There
are times when it is best to forget the arithmetic. One such
time, as Jesus implies here, is when it involves extending
forgiveness. Since God will not forgive the unforgiving (Matt.
6:14, 15), any limitations imposed on man's showing mercy would
also limit his receiving it. The parable introduced by Peter's
question makes this very point. Like the unmerciful servant,
every Christian has received infinitely more than he could ever
pay out in the coin of forgiveness. Why, then, this business of
score keeping? Why taint mercy with a spirit of reluctance?
Where mercy is needed, counting is criminal. The important thing
is not "how many", but to forgive from a truly
merciful heart (Matt. 18:35).
Another
time when "How many?" becomes a needless concern is
when it is applied to the number who will be saved. An inquirer
apparently had this in mind when asking Jesus, "Lord, are
they few that are saved?" (Lk. 13: 23). Without involving
Himself in the arithmetic of the matter, Jesus shows at once
where the concern should be: "Strive to enter... The
important thing is what about ME? — and
whether I am striving to enter. The business of saving self
(Acts 2:40) deserves priority because that's where we can do
most. Only with a striving ME can we help the few to be many.
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A
similar, but equally fruitless, concern of some involves itself
with how many will be in heaven (not the same, with them, as how
many will be saved). They wrongly envision a whole host of saved
dwelling in an earthly kingdom, but only 144,000 making up the
"little flock" of priests and kings in heaven. Again,
the important thing is my striving, but for what? — certainly
not a glorified earth-bound existence! The only eternal abode of
the saved is in heaven. That is where the inheritance of the
righteous is reserved (1 Pet. 1:4); that is where our hope is
laid up (Col. 1:5); and that is where Jesus has gone (1 Pet. 3:
22) to prepare a place in which the redeemed can be with Him
(Jn. 14:2,3). Its inhabitants are not limited by a fixed decree
of God, but only by a striving by faith to do His will from the
heart (Matt.' 7:21).
Yet
another area of futile figuring concerns the time of Christ's
return. Some have been so bold as to set specific dates, the
coming of which did not bring Christ, but only frustration and
disappointment. Yet, in spite of such failures,
"wiser" ones keep on figuring and letting us in on
what the Lord said no man or angel could know (Matt. 24:36). The
important thing is that He is coming, not when! What
difference should that make to the faithful? Admittedly, our
time IS short! — not because we know Christ is coming
soon, but because we will be leaving soon! But for now, God's
longsuffering continues. The time is too short for idle pursuits
and hindering speculations. We must look carefully to how we
live — and be wise, redeeming the time. Dan Shipley
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