He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love.
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
There are Scripture after Scripture commanding us to love one another and the importance behind it. In my own personal life, I can attest to the power of love in forgiveness and how they are so intertwined.
I was faced with a seemingly hopeless situation requiring more forgiveness than a human is capable of. Instead of going down the path of bitterness, anger, and ugly … I prayed.
I prayed for, and was given to the point of overflowing, God’s all-consuming love. When my prayer was literally, immediately answered and I was filled with His great love, I was able to offer it to a person, who in my own human eyes, was completely undeserving of it. Not only were they undeserving of my love, they were equally, if not more so, undeserving of my forgiveness.
But as God’s love flowed through me, I was able to extend His love and ultimately, forgiveness to someone else. And because of this radical love, grace, and forgiveness, I was able to watch a hurting and broken person come to Christ.
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other,
for love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 {NLT}
You see friends, love and forgiveness aren’t ours to hold on to. They’re meant to share and give away. Redemption, freedom, and joy come when we live how we’ve been commanded to live. <– tweet this
In the Gospel of Mark, we read an account where the teachers of the law ask Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this … ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Two Gospels over, in John chapter 13, we read of the Last Supper. During that meal Jesus is speaking to the disciples explaining what will come and leaving them with His last thoughts and commands. In verses 34 and 35, Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who
learn proper behavior from their parents.
Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with
him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us.
His love was not cautious but extravagant.
He didn’t love in order to get something from us
but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.
Ephesians 5:1-2 {MSG}
Oh to love like that! Here’s the thing … if we’re walking and living life everyday with Christ, as the Scripture above tells us we should be doing, a love like that is not only possible, but also a way of life. It’s something flowing through us that we’re not even aware of. I’m the first to admit loving, and forgiving are not always easy, but I’m proof it’s possible.
Matthew Henry says, “God is love; and those that dwell in love dwell in God and God in them.”
The above Scripture says God’s “love was not cautious, but extravagant.” The New Oxford American dictionary defines extravagant as “exceeding what is reasonable or appropriate; absurd.”
God has no “ifs.” I’ll love you if you promise to never-ever-never ever hurt me. I’ll love you if I feel like it. I’ll love you if you’re loveable. I’ll forgive if you ask for forgiveness. I’ll forgive if you’re really sorry and spend the rest of your life proving it to me.
God’s love isn’t cautious and has no restrictions. He doesn’t love us to get something from us. God has loved us before we were ever born … extravagantly.
Can we love like that?
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