We start the month with an interesting moment from Jesus’ life, found in Luke 7:36-50. We find Jesus at the home of a Pharisee. While Jesus was there, a woman with a bad reputation stopped by with an expensive jar of perfume. She cried and used her tears to wash Jesus’ feet, then anointed them with perfume. The Pharisee was upset that Jesus would let a woman like this near him. Jesus responded with a parable to explain why this woman had honored Him so much. She understood something about forgiveness that the Pharisees missed.

Bottom Line: Everyone needs forgiveness.

In week 2, we find Jesus interacting with an unexpected person in Luke 19:1-10: Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector working for Rome. He earned a reputation for taking advantage of his fellow Jewish people. Zacchaeus was considered an outcast by many, so he must have been shocked when Jesus asked to come over to his home for a meal. When Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, he changed. He went back to the people he had cheated and returned four times as much money as he took from them.

Bottom Line: When you forgive others, it can change them.

In week 3, we discover one of Jesus’ parables recorded for us in Matthew 18:21-35. Jesus told this parable because Peter asked a question about forgiveness. Peter might have thought he was doing pretty well to say he’d forgive someone seven times, but Jesus raised the stakes and said we ought to forgive others even more. Jesus showed what this meant with a parable about a servant who was shown incredible forgiveness, yet wouldn’t offer forgiveness to someone else.

Bottom Line: Forgive others because God forgives you.

We end the month in Luke 15:11-32, when Jesus shared a parable to help people understand God’s amazing grace and forgiveness. A son came to his father and asked for his share of the inheritance. This broke the father’s heart, but he went ahead and gave the son what he wanted. The son wasted all of the money and hit rock bottom. That’s when he decided to go home to his father and ask for forgiveness. The father welcomed him home with open arms and threw a giant party for him. His older brother, on the other hand, chose not to forgive and became angry with his brother. He not only missed out on a party, but he also missed out on rebuilding a relationship with his brother.

Bottom Line: God will always forgive you.