There are several verses in the Bible that talk about how we need to ask forgiveness for our sins. And we do! But we also need to remember to forgive others. I'm sure most of you have heard of the parable of the unforgiving servant, found in Matthew 18:21-35, where Jesus is telling Peter that we should always forgive others, up to 70 times 7, in verse 22. Now, this isn't literally saying that we should only forgive someone 490 times, this is just a figure of speech, God forgives us several more times than that, and we need to keep that in mind and do the same.
Let's look at verses 34-35 of the same book and chapter. It says, "And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." This is saying that we not only have to tell them that they're forgiven, but we actually have to mean it, even if it's hard. We have to remember that no one is perfect, and we have to have patience with people. I remember once when I was in kindergarten, I was still in public school, and during recess one day, I overheard my teacher telling one of her students to apologies for calling someone names. And I remember the strangest thing, because after the kid apologized , the other said that it was okay, and the teacher exclaimed, "No! No it's not okay!" She wasn't allowing the one who had been called names to forgive the other. We need to forgive others, even if it's difficult to, and even if we have to do it 490 times. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that if we don't forgive others for wronging us, then we are wronging them, and God. So next time someone says that they're sorry for something, remember all those times that God forgave you, and it might be a little bit easier to forgive that person. :)
