Love Is The Greatest Of Them All

“Love keeps no record of wrongs.”  God drew my attention to that verse the other day in 1 Corinthians 13.  This part of the “LOVE” chapter had never quite struck me as it did this time.

A very familiar verse to most of us.

“Love keeps no record of wrongs.”

I think it’s one of those things that we are so familiar with, that we gloss over it in our minds. But the words are very important. They are very true.

I think of all of the things that my children have done wrong and how easily I have forgiven them. It comes naturally to me, because of my great love for them. I know they will mess up. I know they will get it wrong. They are growing up and learning. It’s easy for me to forget about those moments. It’s tougher, however, to forget about being wronged by someone else. To forget – and to – forgive. Even if that person is a friend or relative. It’s tougher because we probably have to work harder at making the choice to love.

I think about all of the grievances that I’ve kept a mental note of in my head. How it’s easy to put mental “debits”  in my head next to a person’s name because of mistakes or things they’ve done that have hurt or annoyed me. And yet love keeps no record of wrongs.

So who are we to love? Well…God says we are to even love our enemy.

I’ve been convicted about all the mental “recordings” I’ve kept of the wrongs done to me. Wrongs that maybe weren’t even intentional by another person. They were simply being human. And being human means you will let someone else down. You will anger them at times. You will disappoint them, hurt them, say something you regret. We all do it. We are human.

I would want someone to erase the mental checks they have next to my name. I would want someone else to make the choice to love me and to forget about the wrongs I’ve done them. Oh, how I’d want that! So I need to find it in my heart to do the same for them. I need to erase the record I have of the wrongs they’ve done to me, too.

It’s a tall order. It’s a tough job. No one said it would be easy or fun.

I guess that’s why love is the greatest of them all.

*Published at DevotionalChristian.com - March 2011