Jesus teaches a lot in this passage, from understanding the value of children, to how to respond to church members who sin against you, to the importance of and reason to forgive. It is a full chapter. What Jesus is pointing out to me throughout the reading is that the way I relate to people, especially my brothers and sisters in Christ, is important. It says a lot about how we should function as a church, as a community of believers together, and what my role in that community should look like.
I am learning from Jesus that children are important. So important in fact that if I do something that would cause them to stumble, it would be better for me to be downed in the depth of the sea. Jesus stresses the importance of creating spaces that welcome children and me being welcoming of children. Perhaps even more than my own comfort is the comfort of children. More important than how I welcome and greed adults is how I welcome and greet children. I need to recognize them, get to know them, and encourage them.
I am learning from Jesus how to handle conflict. That when conflict arises, I need to address it with the person who has offended me. This is hard, because it is easier for me to be mad about something, to keep it to myself, or to go and talk to somebody else about it. Rather than spreading discontent and spreading the hurt to others, Jesus’ instructions are for me to talk with the person who has caused offense. I am to seek reconciliation with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
This leads to Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness. This is important for how I relate to people. There are plenty of opportunities to be offended. I believe that anytime more than one person is in a room, there will eventually be a disagreement and offense. Jesus says that I am to forgive the person who offends me. I don’t forgive because they deserve forgiveness. I don’t forgive because they have sought to make amends or have done something to earn it, but I forgive because God has forgiven me.
My life is to be lived in response to the love that God has shown me when God forgave my great debt. Ultimately, I need to see my sin as a great debt I could not repay. Even if I think I am a good person. even if I think I have done a lot of good things. The gospel that Jesus teaches is that there is no way I could repay the debt of my sin, so thank God that Jesus has done that for me. I can live humbly, love children, and forgive others, all because the great debt in my life has been paid through the blood of Jesus Christ.