July 31, 2022 HE WHO LOVES MUCH
Luke 7:47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little loves little.”
Colossians 3:12-14 “And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
There is a correlation between love and forgiveness. If one has trouble loving others, it’s an indicator that he or she has not realized how needful they were of being forgiven by God for their sins. When we are aware of how we have sinned against God, and others, and come to realize that God has forgiven our sins, we are more compassionate and more loving, and not quick to judge others-it’s that simple. When received, the love of God has a way of cleansing and purifying us; His love changes our hearts. When we do not love, or forgive, or not be gentle and patient, we are walking in our flesh and not according to the Spirt. The basic truth that underlies our living out the gospel is being aware of the forgiveness of our sins; if we don’t think we have sinned, or if we think we have not ‘sinned very much,’ or if we think that our sins were not ‘big sins,’ then we have missed it and we do not know the love of God. God came to us in our sin-and forgave us. We may have lived a moral life, but even if that is the case, we nonetheless were separated from God by our sinful nature and in need of His forgiveness. In the Colossians verse above, we learn that we can ‘put on love;’ that is an amazing truth to embrace. We can put on love even when others do or say things that are unlovely. God’s love is not like human love; human love fails and is fragile; the love of God is steadfast, never fails, and is not selfish. The good news is that we are not limited to human love; Romans 5:5 tells us that God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit! It is our opportunity to live life on this earth out of the love of God. God’s love in us enables us to rise above-to respond as God responds. The two points for us today is to realize that we have been forgiven much; when we do so, we will become aware of the love of God that enables us to love with an unselfish love. It is amazing, but we can put off what is not love, and we can put on love! Let us be those who are always putting on love.
1 John 4:16 “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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