Why the unpayable debt of sin requires us to be merciful to others
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Christ’s parable of the Unmerciful Servant shows that no offence against us is anything compared to our own debt to God.
Editor’s Notes
In this part, Fr Coleridge tells us…
How unmercifulness turns prayer itself into self-condemnation, for he who will not forgive actually asks God not to forgive him.
That hardness of heart extinguishes grace and love, showing a soul already verging on reprobation.
Why every occasion of forgiveness is a treasure, by which we draw freely from the inexhaustible mercy of God.
Coleridge shows us that mercy towards others is the currency of divine favour — the means by which God’s own pardon and bounty are measured back to us.
For more on the context of this passage, see Part I.
Chapter IX Fr Henry James Coleridge, 1886, 159-70 St. Matthew …