If asked to define or describe love, most people would include “feelings” somewhere in their response. When a Christian is asked that same question, there is usually a reference made to I Corinthians 13, also know as the love chapter in the Bible. I find it interesting that I Corinthians 13: 4-8 speaks as much about what love does not do as much as it speaks about what love is. I believe the average adult knows what it means to be patient and kind or to not be boastful and to be slow to anger. But what about the part that admonishes us to “keep no record of wrongs”? I wonder how well we are doing with that in our relationships in general and within our marriages in particular.
What does it mean to keep no record of wrongs? Is God instructing us to become holy doormats and walk about in a deluded stated with our heads stuck in the clouds or elsewhere? Absolutely not!!! But what he is telling us is that within the context of our relationships to have a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, when reconciliation is safe and appropriate and not dredge up the ways in which we are sinned against, allowing the past to remain in the past. I know we are tempted to hurl accusatory reminders of past wrongdoings at our spouse during moments of heated exchange. But I implore you to remember how God deals with each of us and the many sins we commit against others, against Him, and even against our own bodies (Micah 7:18-19, Psalm 103: 10-12).
So, rather than having an axe to grind, consider burying the hatchet, seeking peace, and consider the needs and the heart of the other. Now that is what love does!
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