Life throws unexpected events and most of the time, we are caught off guard and empty-handed. We feel crushed, confused, and bitter. Problems upon problems. Like what they often say, “when it rains, it pours.”
People and things cause us to be discouraged and hurt. They talk behind our backs. They judge us based on what they see. Sometimes, they are waiting for us to fall and stumble, so they could have something against us. These cause us to feel betrayed. But these things are not necessarily ugly. These will test and prove the content of our hearts. And as we walk along this path, there’s pain. There’s loneliness that no one understands.
For the past weeks, my devotion always leads me to these two words: love and forgiveness. People are people. We meet and communicate with them every day of our lives. We encounter each of them because God has allowed us to meet them for a reason. Some make us stronger. Others may help us grow in our spiritual life and may imprint good things on our hearts that cannot be forgotten. And maybe, some may give us precious lessons about the reality of life. No matter what purpose these people have in us, we know that in Him, there are no accidents nor coincidence. With all of these, He teaches us to shine for others, so that they may know that we are His children.
Love, even if it’s hard
The secret to loving others is to love God first. When our hearts are solely beating for the Lord, loving becomes easier. Yet loving others the way we love Him involves sacrifice.
Sacrificing our desires and convenience. Sacrificing our wants and plans. Sacrificing our time and effort. Sacrificing our ideals, preferences, and standards. Sacrificing ourselves to love others the way Jesus wants us to love.
I have learned that in loving, we need to look at the cross and picture Jesus hanging on it.
There’s pain. There’s hurt. There’s death. There’s sacrifice. But its fruit is unfathomable and it lasts until eternity. In the end, it’s all worth it. In the same way, we know that we love God and others when we can deny and die to ourselves so that others may live. So that others may come to know that through us, Jesus is love. So that through us, others may find a ray of hope found in Jesus.
Love, even if it is hard because this is the picture of love at Calvary.
And we know that when we run out of love, Jesus is the source of the never-ending flow of love. We only need to run to Him and ask Him to fill our cup.
I could not agree more with author Ann Voskamp who said that “Sacrifice leaves us the most satisfaction.” In loving sacrificially, we will discover a glimpse of love at Calvary. This love goes beyond what humans can understand. Only those hearts closely knitted with His are the ones who can extend this godly love that is uncommon to man’s eyes.
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
Whenever we have a hard time loving those people who are unlovable, think of the cross where love is clearly defined. Not as the world defines but God.
Forgive, even if it’s hard
Throughout the Scripture, God showed his forgiveness to sinners who are willing to humble themselves and follow Him.
I once read that forgiveness is not about keeping score but losing count. Forgiveness is not a feeling that we should follow, but it is a decision we make towards someone. We might have read Peter asking Jesus how often he should forgive others. Till seven? But God answered Him seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22). That’s actually 490 times for a person, maybe a day? Can you imagine how every day we need to forgive a person that much? Yet God did not emphasize the counts of forgiving others. He is simply stating that we forgive as much as we can. Forgive, even though it is hard.
The Bible does not say that Peter had someone in mind who might probably be pissing him off, and he thought that this person had gone beyond his limits. Yet God reminded him that he should forgive even more.
Do you have someone in mind whom you have a hard time forgiving? Maybe that person caused you so much hurt. Maybe that person offended or unimaginably betrayed you. I might not understand how you feel, but I do know that the Bible teaches us to forgive the way He does.
Jesus beautifully spoke about forgiveness in these verses:
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
What a wonderful illustration of God’s forgiveness that we often forget. Real forgiveness offers security and away from any condemnation. When we come to this point, we know that we have forgiven the way Jesus did for our sins.
We can’t forgive without Jesus in us. We can’t forgive if we love ourselves. We can’t forgive if we have not experienced God’s amazing work of forgiveness on the cross. We cannot forgive if we think that we are good or better than others. Because forgiveness is not about keeping records of wrongdoings. It is about losing count of ourselves, so God will be magnified in our decision to forgive.
And once we make that decision, the process of God’s healing starts. Without forgiveness, there will be no healing.
Love and forgiveness correlate with each other. We cannot forgive without love. We cannot love without forgiving.
God always honors those who obey His will. If we truly love Him, we must keep His command to love (1 John 1:15) and forgive because He has forgiven us (Matthew 6:14).
The time that we have truly loved and forgiven others, then we will have a bigger picture of His love and forgiveness towards a sinner like us.
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