Then Peter came to Him and said, Lord, how often shall forgive my brother when he sinned against me? Seven times? Jesus said to him: Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Matthew 18: 21f.

Uff, soooo many times ?? !! It’s like a license for my neighbor to do what he wants! – I groaned inwardly, when I read that. But Jesus turns everything around, so I’m glad that this verse is in the Bible.
After all, what He wants me to do, that does He himself does to me! And He starts every day counting it anew, it will never be seventy-seven times! Yes, His patience with me is really infinite. I think I would have give up on myself up long ago if I were Jesus …
However, still looms a question: What is sin? There are the great actual sins that our parents tell us, lying, cheating, stealing, cheating on, killing and spreading rumors. You surely must stop this abruptly and radically, if you want to go with Jesus. There are no compromises.
But there is so much in our lives, is it sin or not …..? …. You do not feel comfortable because you do these things constantly, pray constantly for forgiveness and deliverance, yet these things have power you. Constantly you feel guilty and sentenced yourself.
There are the addicted coffee drinkers, the Christians who sneak cigarettes or evenings drink a beer or a glass of wine, as there is the "eater", the need to eat more and can not say no, or vice versa, the anorexics … There is those who do not get their sexual fantasies in check… Everything possible makes us our Christian life difficult! Sometimes we do not get such a problem simply under control! – And then always this bad conscience here. It is not enough that you judge yourself, others do it also. And as Jesus sees it? Does He sentence us? Or does he says: I will forgive you, only do not sin again !?
Jesus has said it Himself. He forgives. Seventy-seven times a day the same. He even forgets! For His mercy is even greater as our sin and unholiness. Only we find it difficult to believe that Jesus really forgives and forgets.
Jesus is in us at work, so that we become holy. He knows it does not go in five minutes. But He slowly makes a saint of us if we go to his therapy. He makes us even sometimes fidget in a sin, so that we do not look down on others in pride. He has infinite patience. He waits until the time is there and we are really ready to make a final change. And then finally succeeds and we are free. The closer we live with Jesus, the faster this process. And as long as this process of sanctification, this healing of the heart, lasts as long as Jesus is with us and is on our side. He has namely very, very great hope for us!
Thank you Jesus that you forgive me so often! Yes, I’m not a saint … I need your constant grace and forgiveness! Thank You for never dropping me! Thank you that you always give me new courage!

Bible Reading Today: Johannes 12, 12-19