The Depths of Forgiveness

Discussion Questions 

1. Read Jesus’s teachings in Matthew 18. Then read the devotional below, “The Depths of Forgiveness.”  

2. Donna Schaper writes, “We are to forgive infinitely, always, without limit.” Take a deep breath and examine yourself honestly: Who are you not forgiving? 

3. For what do you need to forgive yourself? How are you seeking forgiveness for the harm you caused? 

4. Imagine yourself floating in a pool of infinite forgiveness. What will be possible when you leave the pool, refreshed, forgiven, and released from harboring anger? 

Devotional 

Then Peter came and said to [Jesus,] “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22 (NRSV) 

Jesus wasn’t kidding. He meant we are to forgive infinitely, always, without limit. 

Including someone who’s harmed you. Including yourself when you’ve harmed someone. Including the people, the systems, the political parties you’re determined to resist. Your anger may be right, even appropriate, but it’s still anger. Anger destroys: first you, then others. 

As Franz Kafka observed, there’s always a cage somewhere looking for a bird. Mostly we fly into them instead of out of them. Sometimes anger is the breeze we fly on into the cage. Sin is an equal opportunity employer. 

Research finds that people who show themselves grace when they’ve done wrong tend to have better mental and physical heath (James McConchie, Greater Good Magazine, 2024 October 7). One researcher noted, “By self-forgiving, you are developing a view of yourself as imperfect yet with intrinsic worth that no one can take away from you.” 

The deepest place is infinite forgiveness, constantly resolving our sins and our misdemeanors, constantly finding a way forward to the place of grace. Grace gives us the chance to try again to get it right. 

Can you really right a harmful wrong? Yes, you can. First by forgiving yourself, and then by forgiving the people who hurt you so much that you “couldn’t help yourself” in causing harm. You also seek forgiveness from the person you hurt as well. The math makes much more sense than the zero-sum game where you stsay angry at yourself and your enemy. 

Prayer
Help us help ourselves to resolve anger early and often. Help us forgive the people we can’t help but hate, whoever they are. Amen.

About the Author
Donna Schaper is an interim Pastor at the United Church of Gainesville, Florida, and author, most recently of Remove the Pews—first from your theology, then from your building.