This week, we’re continuing our message series as we go through the parables of Jesus and learn from Him how to truly live life to its fullest.

A parable is a simple story that illustrates a moral or spiritual lesson. Jesus said that He taught using parables so that the secrets of His Kingdom would only be understood by those seeking after this revelation.

The last few weeks, we focused on the value and worth that we place on the Kingdom of Heaven and our relationship with Jesus. This week, we’re being challenged on the issue of forgiveness.

Life is hard. We live in a fallen world and we are a sinful people still wrapped in this weak flesh. There are times when we are going to be hurt, wounded, and offended. We were created with the need for relationships with one another. We were intentionally created very unique from every person around us. We also come from very different backgrounds and life experiences. As a result, relationships are complicated.

Much good can come from relationships and we do desperately need one another. However, there will be times when those relationships come at a cost and with risk involved. One thing that is guaranteed in this fallen world is that we will hurt, wound, and offend one another. There are times when people with evil intentions do it, well, intentionally. There are also times when people do so with no intent nor awareness that it happened.

Whether intentional or unintentional, the hurt is still the same. This hurt, if we don’t handle it correctly, can cause deep roots of bitterness, distrust, and hostility in our lives. We were never designed to carry any of these; neither the initial hurt nor the destruction that this hurt can cause us.

For our own good and benefit, God made a way for us to trade in all of these things for healing. God made a way for us to trade in all of this ugliness for restoration. The path that leads to this transfer is called forgiveness.

Now before we even go into learning about forgiveness, Jesus starts by teaching us how we are supposed to handle it when someone does sin against us. This applies whether intentional or unintentional.

Matthew 18:15-35

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

This is where 90% of conflict and hurt is resolved, but it is the road not often travelled. It’s far easier to be hurt, talk to other people about that hurt, and allow them to console you and join in your crusade to share how bad that person is and how wrong they were. If we were to instead go and talk to that person one-on-one privately, our lives would contain so much more freedom and so much less baggage.

However, there is still that 10% chance that they did intend to hurt us and have no regret for doing so at all, then what?

16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

I encourage you at this point to involve just a few others who can remain neutral in the conflict and preferably someone who cares about the both of you equally to discuss the issue. Sometimes our perspective is blinded by our hurt and anger and we don’t understand things accurately. Having a third party can help two individuals reach a level of mutual understanding of one another.

This step also can bring freedom and deliverance from abusive situations. Too often, people remain victims to another individual simply because they are afraid to reach out for help. Never face your situation alone, but use wisdom and God’s guidance in selecting who to confide in and how to safely proceed throughout the process from fear to freedom.

However, there is still a chance even at this point that the person meant to hurt you and still could care less about it. Well, Jesus teaches us how to handle that as well.

17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to liste