When Peter asks if he should forgive seven times, Jesus answers "seventy-seven times" (or seventy times seven), meaning forgiveness has no numerical limit or end. How should we then approach forgiveness? Forgiveness does not mean staying in an abusive situation, nor does it excuse the harm that was done. It is not denying the pain or forgetting what happened. It is simply letting go of your desire for revenge and no longer wishing ill on the offender. You do not have to reconcile with an abuser to have forgiven them.  To forgive is to relinquish your right to get even and wishing the other person's true good. Mercy goes a step further by seeking reconciliation, but the initial step of forgiveness is strictly a choice to let go hatred. People can be forgiven and still have to pay for their crime. We have to face the consequences of breaking the law of the land or the law of God. True strength lies in renouncing anger to let God heal both the victim and the sinner. If we do not forgive, God will treat an unforgiving person the same way the king treated the wicked servant.