positive instruction.

jesus was not content to teach merely "judge not, that ye be not judged." in a way, that is only negative teaching. it exhorts men to withhold judgment, but does not exhort to positive action. but the nature of the teaching of jesus is generally constructive. his "don'ts" are always directed against prevailing evil, and are almost immediately followed up with constructive directions as to what to do. so now he continues, "first cast out the beam out of thine own eye"; and further, from place to place. he instructs men how they shall deal with their fellowmen. one's duty is not fully done when one merely withholds judgment; there remains yet to be done some positive act of good—a kind word, a charitable deed, an effort at reconciliation with one of ill-will if such a one there be.

the doctrine of reconciliation.

in the matter of friendly association, good-will, and forgiveness, jesus spoke very definitely. "if thy brother shall trespass against thee," said he, "go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. but if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. and if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican."

{214} the attitude of a citizen of the kingdom.

long suffering, slow to anger, not vengeful, and without condemnation, should the citizen of the kingdom be. how many of us follow the course here outlined, when an associate "trespasses" against us? how many of us go to him first and talk it over? if the matter is not settled then, how many of us try again, and take two or three friends along to help arbitrate the difficulty? and if still a reconciliation is not effected, how many of us appeal in a spirit of love to the church—the court of last appeal in matters spiritual? unfortunately, most of us are prone to cast off the brother who has done us wrong without looking into the causes that prompted him to act as he did. if we take steps to settle the difficulty, it is too often not through the mediation of friends or the spiritual influence of the church, but through the cold procedure of the civil court. and worst of all, we yield not infrequently to the temptation to talk. we gossip; we slander; we start scandal; we wrong much more than we have been wronged. jesus would not have it so. agree with thine adversary quickly.

the doctrine of forgiveness.

sometimes it happens that a brother offends more than once. how many times shall he then be forgiven? this question troubled peter. he of came therefore to jesus and asked, "lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and i forgive him? till seven times?"

"jesus saith unto him, i say not unto thee. until seven times: but until seventy times seven." of course, jesus did not mean that one should forgive an offender exactly seventy-seven times, no more, no less. he {215} meant that there is no limit to the number of times that we should exercise the gift of forgiveness; but that we should forgive freely and cheerfully as often as the offender repents. then, in order that there might be no question as to the meaning of his teaching, jesus told the parable of the unforgiving servant.

the parable of the unforgiving servant.

"therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. and when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents (or about $10,000,000). but forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment be made. the servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, lord, have patience with me, and i will pay thee all. then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

"but the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, who owed him an hundred pence (or about $20): and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, pay me what thou owest. and his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, have patience with me, and i will pay thee all. and he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

"so when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, o thou wicked servant, i forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy {216} fellowservant, even as i had pity on thee? and his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

"so likewise shall my heavenly father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

the meaning.

about the meaning of this dramatic story there can be no question. our indebtedness to god the heavenly father is incalculable; our dependence upon him is infinite. god recognizes our helplessness, and our inability to pay, and he forgives us our shortcomings, even as we pray, "forgive us our debts." the indebtedness of our fellowmen to us is slight in comparison; their dependence upon us is nil. yet, we are likely to render harsh judgment against them, and to withhold forgiveness from our hearts, even though we utter in prayer the words, "as we forgive our debtors." but if we deal harshly with our fellowmen who owe us so little, can we expect god, whom we owe so much, to deal gently with us? if we want the great creditor to forgive us our large indebtedness, should not we—small creditors that we are—forgive without the asking, and from our hearts, the little debts of our fellowmen?

the right attitude toward our enemies.

such was the teaching of jesus concerning our association with our friends and fellowservants. but jesus's teaching of love and reconciliation did not stop there. it is our duty—since we all want god to bless and favor us—to love even our enemies, and those whom we are by nature prompted to hate. for, said jesus, "ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy {217} neighbour, and hate thine enemy. but i say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. for if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? and if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect."

the golden rule.

so, then, it appears that the practicing of the golden rule makes a large stride toward perfection. we should do good to all, forgive all, love all. then can we come in strength before the lord and plead for patience and forgiveness.

"he prayeth best, who loveth best

all things both great and small;

for the dear god who loveth us,

he made and loveth all."

jesus put it thus: "therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."

the references

matt. 18:15-17. matt. 5:43-48.

matt. 18:21-35. matt. 7:12.

{218} the questions

1. why could not jesus be content to teach merely "don't"?

2. of what does the doctrine of reconciliation consist?

3. what is the proper attitude of a citizen of the kingdom toward his fellow-citizens?

4. how often should one forgive an offender?

5. how does the parable of the unforgiving servant show why we should forgive our fellowmen?

6. what should be the attitude of a citizen of the kingdom toward his enemies?

7. what is the meaning of tolerance?

8. show how the golden rule may be made to enrich your own lives and make them happier.