“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Let us all agree; we have all fallen short of the glory God has given us. We may be at different levels of relationship with God, or lack of it, but that fact is that we all falter, and God who is Father, knows are limitations and forgives us. Because for Him the important thing is His relationship with us. Similarly, we too must emphasise on  positiveness in relationships, not only with God, but with everyone around us. This is important for us, because when we cut and destroy relationships, we first deny that we are made in God’s Image – therefore we deny God. The other drastic effect is that we are effectively building a wall around ourselves, and imprisoning ourselves inside.

Think of it, how come this servant in today’s Gospel reading came to be in a debt of 10,000 Talents, a near impossible amount for him to be able to repay in 10-12 lifetimes. To understand better, lets use the first part of the parable of Talents. The King is going on a journey, and he calls his trusted servants and gives them the responsibility to manage his wealth. For some reason, this particular servant fails in his task and creates a loss for the King. On his return the King takes this servant to task and condemns him. But on evaluating the servants service with him, he forgives him, The King is mindful of his relationships. But the servant has lost his faith in relationships and condemns a fellow servant, who could not repay a loan he had given him. The truth of human existence is that the rules and regulations humanity sets for itself, even in individual capacity, they comes back to judge the the one who sets the terms of judgement.

• In the case of the King, it is love and compassion
• In the case of the Servant who could not forgive, he in turn gets unforgiveness.

Be watchful of what you read in the Bible. There are many things God asks us to do, and they may sound meaningless, un-understandable and objectionable. Pray about these things, asking God for correct understanding, like as in todays Gospel about forgiving without limit, which Jesus asks us to practice. Pray that God grant you insight into the truth of these things. Because all these things are for your benefit. And God who loves you, does not wish us to wrapped in chains…

For those who awaken to what their life is heading towards, like the Prodigal Son, God is saying, “return to me with all your heart,” show me your earnestness and desire for change. Show him that this is not just another seasonal action of coming to God. And He is sure to bless you.