Two Meditations on Matthew 18:23-35

The Debtors

Before me is a bigger debt than I could ever pay-
Everything I owe my Lord from birth until today.
All I've done against Him, all the good I've failed to do.
The hidden, darkest secrets I'm ashamed to say I knew.
I wanted to keep working, to pay the mountain down,
But even as I'm trying, more debt is coming round.
Then I hear his verdict--"You will not be sold.
For I am having mercy. I erase the debt you owe."

But as I leave his courts relieved of debt that he forgave
I pass his courtiers and see a certain fellow slave.
Justice burns within me as I consider all he's done.
I've never been so hurt by anybody like this one.
I fight the urge to grab his throat, demanding he repay.
I even watch him sneer at me before he walks away.
Other souls are watching me to see what I will do-
demand he pay in Justice, or have mercy on him, too?
But how can I cry "Justice!" when in justice I would be
locked away forever paying debt eternally?
With a prayer, I turn to go. I will not make him pay.
For having been forgiven much, I must forgive in the same way.

Mercy's Source

I have been forgiven much
yet the pain of Justice burns.
Unsatisfied, she cries for pay.
For Justice my heart yearns.

But God, my God, your Mercy came
and sated her demands.
You came and paid my debt for me,
released my shackled hands.

Might your sacrifice extend
to debt which still exists?
And satisfy the Justice cry
that lingers on my lips?

"Your debt is satisfied
because my blood has covered you.
My grace, it is sufficient
for all you now must choose to do.

The measure which you measure out
will be how you're measured, too.
Will you measure out with Justice,
or with the Mercy shown to you?"

But where does Mercy come from?
There must be some supply.
For you are Just and somehow
Justice must be satisfied.

"I did not wish for you to die,
though such great debt you owed.
And so I chose to pay the price,
and the Fount of Mercy flowed."

Can this Fount extend to pay
when debts are owed to me?
Can I pass your Mercy out
when others cause me grief?

"My Mercy is inside of you,
like blood within your veins-
But will you choose to let it flow?
This question still remains.

Will you guard your life or lay it down
when Justice cries for blood?
My Mercy is inside of you,
your veins hold back the flood.

You see, I gave my life for you.
In Mercy, you are free.
But to satisfy all Justice, child,
you now must follow me.

If you wish to keep the Mercy
I have shown you for my part,
You must forgive your brother and your sister
from your heart."