I remember a friend of mine was saying to his fiancee “before you do wrong, I would have already forgiven you.” It is so easy to say such a thing to a future wife, but in reality it’s more of a lip service to impress her and for her to think highly of him as a real gentleman or a gallant man.  A gallant is one who is kind and polite towards women.

However the phrase itself “before you do wrong, I would have already forgiven you” is Biblical.  Because one of the most beautiful descriptions of love in the Bible is, it doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do (1 Cor. 13:5 CEV).   The LIVING BIBLE puts it this way: It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. 

Love Keeps no Record of Wrongs

For example, the wife whose husband committed infidelity at some point in their marriage, do not keep a journal of the wrong done many years back.  When her husband is late coming home one night or several nights in a row, the wife under the influence of love or have this grace of love is not malicious, censorious, nor imputes evil motive that her husband is womanizing again.  She doesn’t continually fester her husband by reminding him of his infidelity nor harp or to talk continuously about the incident which was past history already.

Or, if one of our friends was found guilty of embezzlement and incarcerated because of it, when we are under the influence of this grace of love does not think of the evil that is done by him.  We desire to think well of him and we give him the benefit of doubt.  We give him the second chance.  God is the God of second chance and many chances for that matter.

Remember the Gospel narrative about Peter asking Jesus “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  The meaning is, that we are not to limit our forgiveness to any fixed number of times.  As often as a brother injures us and asks forgiveness, we are to forgive him.  It is, indeed, his duty to ask forgiveness.  If he does this, it is our duty to declare that we forgive him, and to treat him accordingly. If he does not ask us to forgive him, yet we are not at liberty to follow him with revenge and malice, but are still to treat him kindly and to do him good.

Love Always Forgives

The apostle Paul wrote in Col 3:12  Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,   13  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.   14  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

What a beautiful and utopian world to live in when this kind of love is heeded and practiced in all aspects of human relationships.

But this kind of love is possible only when we are truly born from above or born again.  For this kind of love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts. It says in Romans 5:5 that this love of God is diffused by the Holy Spirit, like water is poured out; is abundantly produced, that is copiously or abundantly given to a Christian; making his heart highly conscious of this abundant love to God.

May our life exhibits and exudes this kind of love with the help of God through the dynamic power of His Spirit.

View and listen “The Love of God” and “I Then Shall Live” sung by the Gaither Vocal Band: