Commenting on Jesus' parable spoken in the house of Simon the Pharisee, Mary Baker Eddy writes on page 363 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "He described two debtors, one for a large sum and one for a smaller, who were released from their obligations by their common creditor. 'Which of them will love him most?' was the Master's question to Simon the Pharisee; and Simon replied, 'He to whom he forgave most.' Jesus approved the answer, and so brought home the lesson to all, following it with that remarkable declaration to the woman, 'Thy sins are forgiven.'"
This declaration of the Master is made beautifully clear for us in Christian Science through Mrs. Eddy's revelation of God as Principle, which does not pardon sin but forgives it by destroying it. We can understand the significance of the statement all the better when we understand that the word translated "forgive" in the New Testament signified in the Greek "to send away," "to let go," or "to release." And if we use the original meaning of the word in English, we find that "forgive" signifies "to give completely." God gives the true idea for, or in place of, the false belief, and with the coming of the Christ-idea to human consciousness the false belief disappears, the mistake is corrected, the sin destroyed. The question of pardon does not enter.
Forgiveness, then, for ourselves must imply the desire, the willingness, on our part to be forgiven—to be released. The question is not, How much does God forgive us? but, How much are we willing to receive of His forgiveness?
