Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” (Luke 7:47 NKJV)
I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life that required my wife and children to forgive me. Here’s a truth I’ve learned as they’ve forgiven me time and time again: love is the key to being forgiven. Jesus reveals two truths about love and forgiveness I’d like to share today.
The more we are forgiven, the more we will love.
One of the marks of a mature believer is their awareness of their own sins. As we spend more time applying scripture to our lives, the Holy Spirit make us keenly aware of the areas of our lives that fail to line up with God’s will.
When we truly comprehend the magnitude and consequences of our wrong doings, forgiveness becomes more valuable to us. It’s meaning is amplified in our hearts. When we receive forgiveness from God, we express our love for him with humility and thankfulness. We love him because he first loved us, he sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, and he has forgiven us.
The more we love, the more we will forgive.
When our daughter, Faith, was very young she was a natural at love and forgiveness. If Melissa and I argued or disagreed, Faith would interrupt us by saying “mama I love you” and “daddy I love you”. We would respond by saying “we love you too”. We couldn’t stay angry with each other after expressing sincere love for our daughter. It was like Faith was reminding us that we loved each other. That feeling of love helped us forgive each other.
Forgiveness is an act of love. God loved the world through Jesus. Its a love strong enough to forgive any sin. Each time we forgive others we’re saying we love them more than the hurt we received from their wrong doing. If you’re having difficulty forgiving others, it won’t be resolved by waiting on them to do something to appease your feelings. Your ability to forgive is directly dependent on your love toward them. Begin by loving them with the love of God.
And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” (I Peter 4:8 NKJV)
To forgive much we must love much. Who’s mistakes do you need to cover with love?