He thought he had come up with the perfect crime. For several years now his scheme had appeared to be successful. His government job had turned out to be a steppingstone to financial success. His monthly paycheck was almost a joke, it was so small compared to the amount he regularly embezzled.

Sometimes he worried a little bit. The more he managed to acquire, the more he seemed to spend. But his wife liked nice things, his children were used to the good life, so he pushed aside his fears and kept on with his plan.

Then one day his whole world came crashing in around him. Auditors unexpectedly went over the accounts and he didn’t have time to cover his tracks. To his horror and dismay, he was taken into custody, charged with owing the government $10 million. He couldn’t imagine where the money had gone. He couldn’t imagine what would happen to him now. His wife and children would be humiliated.

His beautiful home would be repossessed, and the proceeds from its sale put toward the payment of his debt. But even with all of his assets liquidated, he would still owe millions. And how could he hope to come up with another scheme to recoup his resources if he was sitting in jail?

His day in court finally came. He did the only thing he could do. He went before the judge and pleaded guilty as charged. But he threw himself on the mercy of the court, asking for time to make retribution. To his amazement, the judge suspended his sentence although he had found him guilty.

He walked out of the courtroom a free man. But he was not really free. For he had determined in his own mind that he would somehow repay the money he had embezzled. Otherwise, he felt he would be obligated to the government forever.

On his way home, the first opportunity presented itself. He met a fellow worker who owed him

\(30. It wasn't much, but it was a start, and besides, he had to live now himself, without the aid of the extra income. So he demanded the \)30.

His fellow employee claimed not to have the money. But the debt was long overdue, and he had already been generous enough. So he filed a claim against the man in small claims court.

A few days later, when the case came up, the presiding judge was the same one who had set him free. When the judge saw that the plaintiff was the man who had so recently been in court himself, he was angry. He took the necessary steps at once to reimpose the suspended sentence. And the man was taken to jail, while his charges against his fellow employee were dropped.

This story, recorded in Matthew 18, teaches an important truth about forgiveness. God’s forgiveness is unlimited. It is our acceptance of His forgiveness that is sometimes limited and shortcircuits His plan to free us from the condemnation of our sin.

Jesus told this story in answer to Peter’s question about how often he should forgive his brother. Jesus gave the famous seventy-times-seven answer, indicating God’s unending mercy toward us.

“Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” - Matthew 18:22

Seventy times seven doesn’t mean that God keeps a log, and when we’ve been forgiven 490 times, that’s it. His forgiveness knows no bounds. But we often become discouraged and ashamed, and quit asking. We stop seeking His forgiveness, because we think we’ve gone too far. And thus we place limits on His forgiveness that He never intended.

Or we may find ourselves in sympathy with the man in the story. This man, who was forgiven his debt of $10 million, never really accepted the forgiveness offered. It’s true he asked for mercy, but

“when the debtor pleaded with his lord for mercy, he had no true sense of the greatness of his debt. He did not realize his helplessness. He hoped to deliver himself.” - Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 245.

His treatment of his fellow worker showed his failure to accept the forgiveness offered. And when the judge reversed the sentence and sent the man to prison, in reality he was merely accepting the man’s own choice. For God never forces His forgiveness on anyone.

When we see the true enormity of our sin and our utter helplessness to deliver ourselves, we should not despair. The greater our debt, the greater our need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. And because of His great love, there is nothing God wants more than to forgive us and set us free.