Love Offers Absolution.

To experience the Life we long for, the very Life of Jesus flowing from within us {Jn. 7:38-39}, we must come to grips with this simple fact: true freedom can be found only in forgiveness.  As long as the weight of your wounds stands squarely on your shoulders, and the shame of your sins lies hidden in your heart, you will never be free the way Abba intended you to be.  And you will live in chains, love in fear, and worship half-heartedly, as one of the ‘walking wounded,’ one who’s never found Jesus’ healing and restoration for themselves.  To be honest, who hasn’t felt like one of the Walking Wounded ...condemned to wandering the shame-filled wasteland of our own bruised and broken past?

Yet, hope arrives— as it frequently does— in the form of Love.  1 Corinthians 13:5 says, that “love” {the passionate and powerful agape of God} “is not rude,” it never disgraces others or dishonors itself; it keeps a sense of grace and tact in all circumstances.  And “it is not self-seeking.”  Love does not insist upon its rights, but rather remembers its responsibilities.  How many problems in life would be solved, just simply avoided, if this one single thought were always on our hearts?  Life is not about me ‘demanding my rights,’ though there is a time and place to stand up for them; but the time and place is not to ‘prove my rightness’!  It’s not about what I believe life owes me, it’s about the phenomenal debt I owe to the Lord Jesus Christ, the ‘duty of desire’ which demands my allegiance to the King of all Kings.  Paul goes on to say, “love [as it flows from the heart of Abba and through our hearts by His Spirit {Rom. 5:5}] is not easily angered,” which means love does not view life from the angle of anger and exasperation.  Exasperation, as anyone who’s ever been married or had a child understands, is a sign of defeat.  It means the Battle is not going well.

Finally, the Apostle says, love “keeps no record of wrongs” {NIV}.  This final phrase is from logizomai, an ancient accounting term, which spoke of ‘recording something in your ledger in order to hold it against somebody and punish them for it.’  It means you keep a long list of grievances locked away in your soul which, when the time is right, you take out and tally up.  It refers to relationships where we’re constantly asking, “Are the positives outweighing the negatives or are there scores I need to settle?”  Understand this: God’s Love never holds a grudge; it keeps no record of wrong, sin, or evil.  It is not resentful, ever-longing for revenge, and as TLB puts it, “will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.”  Wow.  Where is this love today?  We hear about it, we teach about it, theologians and story-tellers alike love to write about it, songwriters galore sing verses about it… but where is it?

If we’re going to keep our souls from being burdened with a lengthy list of unforgiven grievances, if we’re going to guard our hearts from the enemies of bitterness and resentment, we’re going to have to learn how to forgive.  Plain and simple.  As the Father in His Son has forgiven us— Romans 4:6-8; 1 John 2:12; cf. with Mark 11:25; Colossians 3:13; and 1 John 1:9.  Abba offers us— in the words of author Brennan Manning— “gratuitous forgiveness,” complete absolution for any wrong we may have done.  Should we not do the same for those we claim to love?

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
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Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously