Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:22 ESV)
Repeat
In the last couple of years, I have built around a dozen plastic models. Those models that teenagers put together of cars, plains, ships, and rockets. I am not that good at it. But I keep trying, because I value the experience, the process, and the finished product.
A while ago, I received a locksmith’s kit, and instructions on picking locks. Not to begin a new nefarious career, but because it seemed potentially useful, helpful to improve my small muscle movement, and it is fun. I’m not that good at it. But I keep trying, because I enjoy it, I just might need the skill, and it occupies my hands while my mind does other things.
My grandfather loved his lawn more than I loved mowing it for him. I was young, hurried, and bored. My rows were probably not straight, and the edges unkempt. But he kept asking me to do the chore for him. He kept trying, because he was teaching me, he enjoyed my company, and he loved me.
Often the world does not let us repeat. If we are not good at something, or it is not seen as profitable, or the watchers become impatient, we are not given repeated chances.
But God’s children are permitted to repeat. Encouraged to repeat. Welcomed to repeat.
It is not just forgiveness that happens seventy-seven times. God does not grow impatient with our efforts, angry at our failures, or tired of us trying.
Perhaps because Christ has already acted obediently on our behalf, and that is what He sees. Perhaps because His patience is born out of eternity. Perhaps because He loves us.
We are peculiar, we get to repeat.