He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through
whom they come! It would be better for him if a
millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that
he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be
on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he sins against you seven times a
day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” The apostles
said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the
Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you
would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and
it would obey you. “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to
him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’?
But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare
something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while
I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? He does not thank the slave because he did the
things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when
you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we
have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
Jesus looks with favor upon those who do
more than their duty. Doing your chores
in labor, because it is your job brings no credit to you because it was your
duty to do so. But to forgive someone
who wrongs you, even wrongs you more than once honors
God who sent His Son to take the punishment
for our sins. When we forgive, we model
the One who God gave us as our example.
It is not a matter of faith, but a matter of patterning our lives after
Christ to become more like Him. Whatever
you do, do not do it because of duty, but do it to give glory to God.
Daily Prayer: Lord, guide my steps to become like you. Teach me to copy the speech you have, your
attitudes, and most of all the grace you show in the life that you live. In Your holy name I pray Amen.
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