To Infinity and Beyond! 超越无限！

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Dexu Xia

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Apr 22, 2025, 10:51:04 PM4/22/25

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Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? Matthew 18:33

Today's Insights Throughout Matthew 18, Jesus used extreme examples to make His point—become like a child to be deemed “greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (v. 4); cut off your hand or foot to keep from sinning (v. 8). In this parable of the man who owed “ten thousand bags of gold” (v. 24), Bible commentator John D. Barry notes the monumental size of the debt: roughly 150,000 years of wages. Christ’s point is that our sin is a debt we can’t possibly repay. Since we’ve been forgiven such a great sum, our own willingness to forgive others is to be likewise limitless.

Today's Devotional In the animated movie Toy Story, a child’s toys come to life whenever he leaves the room or falls asleep. One character, a space ranger named Buzz Lightyear, shouts his signature catchphrase while flying about the bedroom: “To infinity and beyond!”

It’s a phrase that has confused many. Isn’t infinity as far as you can go? How can there be anything “beyond” infinity? Drawing on wisdom from ancient Greek philosophers, mathematician Ian Stewart suggests that what is beyond infinity are yet bigger infinities. On and on and on.

Jesus seems to employ such exponential effort in the realm of forgiveness. When Peter asked Jesus about forgiving another person, “How many times must I forgive him . . . seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22 ncv). Jesus goes on to tell a parable comparing a merciful king and an unmerciful servant, making the point that when someone truly regrets their error, there is no limit to the number of times we’re to forgive. We’re to forgive others the way God forgives us (v. 33). Over and over, on and on.

That may seem impossible to us. That’s why we constantly need to ask God for His help. Only in His strength can we do this. Forgiven people forgive people. To infinity and beyond!

Reflect & Pray Who longs for your forgiveness? What does it mean to forgive another in a way that honors them and God?

Dear Father, please help me to be as generous and wise with forgiveness as You are. By Elisa Morgan

“难道你不应该怜悯你的同伴，就像我怜悯你一样吗？”(马太福音 18:33 )

今日经文马太福音 18章21-35 节

今日心得在马太福音18章中，耶稣用极端的例子来阐明祂的观点：要像小孩子一样，才能被称为“天国里最大的”（4节）；要砍掉你的手或脚，才能不犯罪（8节）。在这个关于欠“一万袋金子”（24节）的人的比喻中，圣经注释家约翰·D·巴里指出了这笔债务的巨额：大约相当于15万年的工资。基督的意思是，我们的罪是我们无法偿还的债务。既然我们已经得到了如此巨大的赦免，我们饶恕他人的意愿也应该是无限的。

今日灵修：在动画片《玩具总动员》中，一个孩子的玩具在他离开房间或他睡着时就会活过来。影片中的角色，一位名叫巴斯光年的太空骑警，一边在卧室里飞来飞去，一边喊着他的标志性口号：“飞向无限，超越无限！”这句话让很多人感到困惑。无限不就是你能飞到的最远的地方吗？怎么可能有什么“超越”无限的东西呢？数学家伊恩斯图尔特借鉴古希腊哲学家的智慧，认为无限之外还有更大的无限，更大的无限之外还有更大的，依此无限类推。

耶稣似乎要在宽恕的领域中实施这个超越无限的努力。当彼得问耶稣关于宽恕他人的事时，说“我要饶恕他多少次……七次？”耶稣回答说：“我告诉你，你要饶恕他七次以上；就是他得罪你的七十个七次，你也要饶恕他。”（马太福音18:21-22）耶稣接着讲了一个比喻，把一位仁慈的君王和一个无情的仆人作了比较，他强调，当一个人真心悔改自己犯的错时，我们可以无限次地宽恕他人。我们要像上帝宽恕我们一样地宽恕他人（33节）。一次又一次，永不止息。靠我们自己似乎不可能这样做。这就是为什么我们需要不断祈求上帝的帮助。唯有靠着他的力量，我们才能做到这一点。得蒙上帝赦免的人会宽恕他人，直到无限次，甚至超越无限！

反思与祷告谁渴望得到您的宽恕？以一种尊重他人和上帝的方式宽恕他人意味着什么？亲爱的天父，请帮助我像您那样，慷慨且明智地宽恕他人。