Daily Inspiration

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” —Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus stresses the importance of our forgiveness of others on how we will be forgiven. Many believe that in the next life there is only heaven or hell, and nothing else, but Jesus speaks often of forgiveness in this life and the next. He speaks here of a prison from which there is escape once the last penny is paid. This place is neither heaven nor hell.

I once went to a prison of eternal regret, and I remained there until I totally surrendered my old life and sins to Christ. At the moment of surrender, I was freed. What is to pay the last penny? When we pay for something of value, don’t we surrender what the world deems valuable for an item we deem valuable? Is it possible that until we truly surrender our lives to Christ, real forgiveness can not flow in or out? Upon our surrender, Christ will free us from our prison and make us worthy to accept the salvation He purchased through His Passion.

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