The Evidence of Love

"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away..."

                                    "Day and night your hand was heavy on me...."

Then I acknowledged my sin to you  and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

(excerpts from Psalm 32:3-5)

I can remember a time in my life I had deliberately sinned against God. Every fiber of my being knew it was disobedience, but I did it anyway. I remember feeling His presence for a long time after. I was conscious of Him; as if He was constantly at my side waiting for repentance. There wasn't relief until I came clean and told Him my sin. Of course He already knew. But our relationship couldn't move forward until I acknowledged what I had done and asked Him to forgive me. That brought sweet relief.

In Luke 7, Jesus was having dinner at the home of a Pharisee. A woman, who was considered 'immoral, filthy, and a sinner' came to see him. She knelt behind him, and wept on the floor. She washed his feet with an expensive perfume, and with her tears. The Pharisee was disgusted. But Jesus wasn't. In Luke 7:47 Jesus said, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

A person who is forgiven much, loves much. Should it surprise us that forgiveness and love are so closely linked? God is love. And no one is more forgiving than God. In John 15:12 Jesus said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." To love as He loves is to forgive as He forgives.

"Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit." 

- Psalm 32:1-2

Questions & Thoughts to Contemplate This Week:

- Is there sin in your life that is keeping you from a thriving relationship with God?

- If you find yourself sinning without feeling the hand of God weighing heavily upon you, have you allowed your conscience to become dull?

- Are you holding back forgiveness from someone in your life that needs it?

- Remember, we are all a mess. Those who need the most forgiveness probably also need the most love.