Sunday, March 30, 2014



Day 3

Love keeps no record of wrong

This verse read in a Greek transliteration comes out, “does not reckon the evil.”  Investigating further, we find that “keeps record of (logizomai) means to reckon, impute, or number.  It has the idea of occupying oneself with calculations; putting something to a person’s account, either in his favor or against him.  The word “wrong” (kakos) carries with it the idea of bad, intrinsically lacking in value, useless.  It is likened to a torn garment or a doctor who lacks adequate skill.  God is love and  He empowers us to love as He does.  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12)).  God enters NO calculations in His book of records for all the wrongs and evils we have committed.  They are infinitely removed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  We are told in Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  Because of the power of God’s love in us, we can keep records of all the wrongs done to us at a BIG FAT ZERO.  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)
How do you let go of wrongs done to you?  Do not repeatedly bring up to your mind offenses committed against you.  Dismiss them!  Amy Carmichael made a conscious choice to forget, stating, “I distinctly remember forgetting that.”  Hurts and consequences of the wrongs may linger, but you can cease and desist from parading them through your mind, chewing on and mulling them over and over again. 

A recent example of this comes through our son.  Last fall his motorcycle was t-boned by a pick-up and truck.  His left ankle was shattered and dislocated.  He underwent excruciating pain in the resetting of his ankle, and putting all the bones back in place was problematic.  For months our son lived with the uncertainty of whether his foot would ever heal and that it might even have to be amputated.  Sometimes he struggled with anger toward the driver of the pick-up truck.  After all, that man got off almost scot-free.  His truck suffered very little damage and his insurance company paid out all the money to settle with our son.  In the meantime, our son’s life was extremely disrupted by pain, worry, multiple doctor visits, mobility issues, etc.  He felt justified in his anger toward that truck driver and sometimes entertained thoughts of finding where the man lived so he could break that driver’s ankle.  Our son was tormented by these feelings and thoughts for weeks.  But he also could not get away from these verses, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).  Those verses dwelt in his mind and heart for over a week.  Then God’s peace flooded him as he was reminded to be thankful: thankful that he did not die, thankful he was not paralyzed, thankful he was not injured more severely, thankful for his three little boys and his wife.  He continued to focus on all the blessings of God through this very long, trying ordeal and as a result, thoughts of anger and revenge were shoved out of his mind and heart. 
Jesus’ parable of the king and the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35 is our prime example and gives no excuse for keeping records of wrongs.  One servant owed the king several million dollars.  The servant pleaded for mercy and the king cancelled his debt.  Then this same servant met up with a fellow servant who owed him a small amount of money and  likewise pleaded for mercy.  But the first servant refused and had the other servant thrown into prison.  How dare he!  How dare we!  God is the king and has cancelled our debt that was bazillions of dollars!  How can we keep accounts of the wrong done to us, for they are mere pittances by comparison.  Love indeed keeps no record of wrongs.  Hallelujah! 

Questions for Reflection

Let’s take the time to read and reflect upon Matthew 18:21-35. 

How do you respond to this?  _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God.
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