The words of an old song say, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. That’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.” I beg to differ; forgiveness is just as scarce. Although JESUS said, “Forgive others, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37, New Living Translation), we often limit the number of times we will forgive. Peter thought he was pretty generous when he said, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” (Matthew 18:21, New Living Translation). I can see his chin dropping when JESUS replied, “No, not seven times … but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22, New Living Translation).
In today’s text, Paul gives some incentives to forgive continuously. First, he says it’s a sign of godliness (spiritual maturity): “… you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.” If you continue reading Galatians 6, you’ll also discover that forgiving is a down-payment on future forgiveness. How? Again, the law of harvests speaks clearly: “Don’t be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant” (Galatians 6:7, New Living Translation).
And if the verse featured today isn’t enough incentive to keep forgiving, then just recall how often GOD forgives you. You’ve committed conscious and unconscious mistakes, yet every time you ask HIM, GOD forgives you. As HIS children – the undeserving recipients of HIS grace – we should be willing to keep on forgiving.
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone-especially to those in the family of faith (Galatians 6:9-10, New Living Translation).