1Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves.
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
Luke 17:1-4 (NIV)
Today's passage was inspired by a conversation I had with Taylor Swanger yesterday. It was about forgiving our fellow Christians. There are a number of other verses I could have chosen, some of which you have probably heard.
However this verse says a lot to me about how we are always supposed to interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When a brother sins against you, and you rebuke him, you must do so in a loving way. If you rebuke him in a way that is confrontational, you will escalate the argument, possibly causing him to sin more as he responds in anger.
When people hurt us, or those we love, it is difficult to forgive them. We want to hurt them back - sometimes even more so when it is a loved one that is wronged. We want to defend them. This verse speaks to that need, telling us that it is ok to call someone out when they do something wrong. But it tells us that we are to do so in a way that builds him up. This verse also talks about how we should forgive every time someone asks for forgiveness. It's a difficult thing to do, especially if our trust has been betrayed time and again.
It's easy to give into our anger when we are wronged. It's much harder to act in a loving manner, but that is what we are called to do.
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