Forgiveness Is Love In Action
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8 (KJV)
Do we owe anybody anything? Many people in the world think others owe them something- they call it an entitlement mentality. The Bible says we are to owe no man anything, meaning we are to stay out of debt, and love them. We do owe each other the debt of love. We are to give love to one another regardless of what has been done to us by another person.
Jesus Himself paid our debt; our sin debt- one that we could not pay. If Jesus did that for those who did not love Him first, including us, then we need to mimic Him and show love to others. This is especially important in situations where the other person cannot do anything for us or where it will not benefit us to be compassionate to someone. Aas we walk in that kind of love, God Himself will repay us for our love and kindness, making wrong things right for us.
When we love others, we release forgiveness to them. When offenses are done away with, all that is left to do is to express love. Forgiveness does not condone or make excuses for someone’s behavior. It acknowledges wrong behavior but chooses to release the hurt and the wrong.
And forgive us the things we owe, as we too have forgiven what was owed to us. Matthew 6:12 (New Testament for Everyone, NTE)
Receiving forgiveness from God makes it easier to give forgiveness to others. Forgiveness- it is such a beautiful picture of God’s love. Give some away today!
