Love Large

Luke 7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."

I haven’t thought much about the relationship of love and forgiveness other than; I know that Jesus loves me and forgave me and died for me to prove His great love, which He offers to all humanity. But this passage also says something more. It speaks to the reality of love expressed in the amount of forgiveness received. In other words, I am able to love much because I have experienced great love demonstrated in the release from sin in my life.

That’s one of the problems with sin; it robs us of the qualities of life, which makes life worth living. Take love for instance, we discover the quality of the love of an individual when that individual offers to us forgiveness which is undeserved and unmerited. This is similar to the love God offers to us, which has at its core, ultimate forgiveness. There is a logical outcome from this experience…its called LOVE. My ability to love flows from the realization that I have been totally accepted and forgiven. Have you ever been around un-forgiven people? Not much fun if you ask me.

But here is the, “good news,” Jesus says, “that you can be forgiven,” and that this forgiveness will be confirmed in our ability to experience and express love. Have you ever received anything like that? I can tell you from experience that this is one of the most liberating and freeing experiences that you can ever have. The other side of this issue is true as well; those who forgive little have little love to give. How tragic it is to go through life with this burden of unresolved sin, which robs us of liberating love.

We can have many excuses not to forgive, excuses like, that person hurt me so deeply, or; if I ask for forgiveness I will need to take responsibility for my actions, or; how could anyone forgive someone like me? These are the deceptions of Satan whose debauchery is to keep us in bondage to sin and unaware of the freedom and love which is offered through faith in Jesus Christ. Our excuses pale in the reality of this love found in Christ.

So here is the challenge, let your love be the demonstration of your forgiveness. LOVE LARGE! You have been forgiven much, we all have.

Blessings, Rip