How many times do you have to forgive someone who hurts or harms you? I mean there must be a limit right? You've got to protect yourself after all. Forgiveness isn't easy - especially when the hurt is deep.
One of Jesus closest friends asked that exact question - needing some parameters on how often he should forgive someone. He suggested to Jesus - that 7 times sounded good - after all that was twice as much as the Rabbi's of the day were advocating. He was probably floored when Jesus responded with - 77 times or 70 x 7 ... essentially saying there's no limit on how often you share forgiveness.
Studies show that forgiveness is beneficial to the forgiver - it removes stress and burden - so why not just forgive without being asked - without condition - without limit? That might seem ridiculous at best or impossible at worst - but perhaps it allows us to wrestle with a significant question:
If Jesus insisted that there be unlimited forgiveness FROM His followers - and if Jesus came to represent God, to show us what God is like - does that mean there is unlimited forgiveness FOR us?
So ... what if God has taken a huge risk and already forgiven you for all of your sin and now He's waiting for you to recognize that for the first time? Or if you’re a follower of Jesus - He's waiting for you to recognize the full extent of His forgiveness for you?