Morning

February 28

Leviticus 19:18 ¹⁸"'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Love...keeps no record of wrongs. 1Corinthians 13:4 Jesus said that this was one of the Laws that summed up all the others (Matthew 22:39,40). I'll bet when you read that verse, the 'bear a grudge' part pricked your heart, or at least provoked a memory. We seem so ready to be offended in this day and age. Jesus warned us that this would be true (Matthew 24:12).

We have lauded self-esteem but forgotten to warn of pride. Pride sets itself above others and demands that others give us respect and honor. If we hear a word spoken against us, we readily forget all the words we have spoken against others and excommunicate that person from our love and grace. In the worst cases we play the offense over and over in our minds until it festers and becomes an infection in our memories. Just the passing thought of it brings pain.

Believe it or not, the cause of all that is self, not the one who offended you. If we esteem others better than ourselves, we will examine their words to see if there is truth in them. If there is, we will apologize and adjust our life. If there is not, we will give those words to God and go on loving that person. How many times have we offended God? Does He harbor each offense and remind you of them every time you want to pray? Jesus said (paraphrase) that God will treat you as you treat others. It sounds like we had better be very generous in our forgiveness!

Meditation: Who do I need to forgive and resume loving?