Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs
How many times did Adam and Eve wish they could have that fateful day all over again?
How many tears welled up in David’s eyes for the time he cheated on his wife?
How often did Peter lament the night he denied his best friend and Savior?
Did Paul ever wake up in a cold sweat haunted by his blasphemous past?
There are times when my memory haunts me with things I’d like to forget. Rebellious days I want to do over, relationships I would nurture better, hurtful words I want to take back, and sinful actions I’d love to reverse.
I imagine you’re not much different. The devil loves to dangle the sins of our past before our minds eye and torment us with every little detail. “How could you have done that,” he says. “God could never forgive something like that. It’s going on your permanent record and you’ll have to pay for it someday.” And when our conscience agrees we find ourselves right there with Adam, Eve, David, Peter, Paul and countless others, praying for amnesia.
Do you know how God answers that prayer? He points you to the cross. There at the cross is the washing of your memory and the drying of your tears. There is relief from the wrenching pain in your heart. There on Jesus’ cross God tells you that he forgives your wickedness and remembers your sin no more (Hebrews 8:12). In those words, the past is buried in the bottomless ocean of the mercy of God.
When God forgives, he doesn’t keep a record of your offenses. He chooses to forget them because they’ve been paid for by his Son. You’re forgiven. Your sin is forgotten. Now go love like God.
[Love] keeps no record of wrongs. - 1 Corinthians 13:5
