By Katy Mariotti

Again and Again

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Matthew 18:21-22 English Standard Version

I took this picture recently because it made me laugh. Our tiny dog was lying on the back of the couch behind me and literally fell off the back and into the small space behind my back. And he curled up and pretended that he meant to lay there all along! I’ve never met a dog as clumsy as he is. Sometimes he tries to jump up on something and completely misses! But he’s young and spry enough that he keeps trying.

How often do we stumble in life? Even though there are things we know we shouldn’t do or we know are wrong, the temptation of the moment causes us to stumble once again. We can try really hard and still make mistakes. But as always in the Bible, there is Good News! We have a God who loves us. We have a God who forgave all of our sins before we even committed them. A God who never deserts us, no matter how many times we fall. Just look at the Old Testament! God’s people turned their backs on Him again and again, and every time they turned back, He was there to give them another chance.

So as we keep stumbling forward, let us keep living as God’s children, always trying to do better but knowing we are forgiven and that God loves us no matter what. And let us try to remember to forgive others as God forgives us!

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado