Are you guys catching onto this, yet?

Last week's lesson was a little early. This week's is late. Next week, I'll be doing Sea Trials with the new Uncle J hull. So, enjoy this one!

We all know, whether we are driving a tiller steer or a console steer, our motors offer quite a bit of torque and pull in one direction or another. But, most of the time there is always that sweet spot in the trim where you can just let go of the tiller or steering wheel and the boat will track a “mostly” straight line. Your steering suddenly becomes forgiving. You’re not fighting the wheel or the tiller anymore. You are not letting the motor control where you are going.

This is a long parable, but a really good one…and very important.

Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

The hardest math problem in the world to solve is the one where Jesus asks us to forgive someone who sins against us seventy times seven times! That is really tough for us to work out. The hardest thing about that problem is actually starting it! Forgiveness is often hard because we are the ones suffering. But remember, Jesus suffered for us so that our sins may be forgiven.

When you can learn to forgive from your heart, you can learn to let go of the things that are steering your life. When somebody sins against us, we react in a couple different ways. We want to get back at them or get even with them…we want revenge. This is not our call.

Romans 12:17-19
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.

Sometimes we just try to distance ourselves from those that sin against us. When we do either of the above, we are letting these things control and dictate our lives and the things that we do. We are letting those sins against us steer our lives in a different direction than where we should be going. Just like when the motor is trimmed wrong, we have to fight to keep the boat straight. Trim your life and let things go. Forgive in your heart, let things go. Take your hands off the tiller or off the steering wheel and let God take control.

One of the most powerful statements in the parable above is the last verse; “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” So, in other words, Jesus is telling us, unless you forgive, you are destined for eternal damnation. Everybody knows the line from the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we also forgive those that trespass against us.” You realize, you are asking God to forgive you of your sins…but supposedly, you are forgiving those that sin against you. Are you?

One may argue, “I can fight my motor torque with hydraulic steering.” Maybe so…but the torque is still there. Trim your life. Give forgiveness with your heart. Let your life, like your boat, run a straight path!

And everybody said….

Amen Brotha. Always enjoy reading your post . Keep up the good work