On guard

“Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive.”                                                                                      Luke 17.3

Why does Jesus caution us to be on guard? Are we to be alert to the sin of others? Maybe! We may also need to be ready to rebuke. We must certainly be prepared to forgive the repentant one.

I see the need for Jesus’ caution here, for I would find it difficult to rebuke another. I am only too mindful that I myself am a sinner. And here I see another reason to be on guard. I need to be alert to my own sin, to be ready to receive rebuke, and to be willing to repent. It would be pharasaical of me to jump on another’s transgressions but not be willing to recognise my own.

Indeed, there is much I need to be on guard for. And I must be constantly on guard. If sin and repentance occur many times in one day, I must forgive. What a wonderful lifestyle this passage invites me into. This is the way of the Lord. He is ever ready, and always willing, to forgive my sins when I come to Him in repentance. And, of course, He says, “Follow me.”

He shows me the way to go. I am to be ready at all times to forgive the repentant one, and willing to always confess and repent of my own sins. For this, I seek to maintain a constant guard.

Gracious God,

I thank You for Your forgiving nature. I repent of all those things about me that grieve and disappoint You. Forgive me, please.

Lead me in the way of forgiveness. Let me not be critical of others. May I have the courage to rebuke with love and forgive with grace. I seek to follow You, to treat others as You treat me. Help me, in Jesus’ name I ask.              Amen.