Jesus Paid it All - by Susan Ferguson

Be you therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:36 KJV)

Do you need to forgive or extend mercy to someone, but you're having a hard time doing so? I have personally been there and would like to share how the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35) helped me through it.

Jesus spoke about a king, who wanted to collect debts from his servants. One servant owed a huge debt that he couldn't pay. The king ordered that he and his family be sold to repay it. The servant fell to his knees and pleaded for more time. Moved with compassion, the king canceled the debt. But when that servant left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller debt. He grabbed his servant by the throat and demanded payment. The fellow servant fell to his knees and begged for more time. But the unmerciful servant refused and threw him in prison until the debt was paid. Now there were other servants who saw the injustice, and they reported it to the king. The king called the servant in and said, "Evil servant! Shouldn't you have forgiven your fellow servant's debt as I forgave you?" Then the king threw him in prison until the debt was paid.

In love, God showed me that the unmerciful servant represented me, and the king represented Him. I had a sin debt that was impossible to repay, and Jesus paid it all. Now I must extend that forgiveness to others. Recognizing my own need for mercy changes my heart's attitude so that I may extend mercy and forgiveness to others. I've been forgiven much more than I'll ever have to forgive.

Today's freelance writer lives in Madison, MS, USA. Contact