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“Love Offers Victorious Encouragement! (L.O.V.E)”

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

SCRIPTURE:
"Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends!" (Proverbs 17:9, TLB)

What stuck out to me was 'nagging about them [mistakes] parts the best of friends!' while forgetting about mistakes shows there is love. Wow!

In my life there has always been a battle between nagging vs forgetting.

Sadly, when I have been self-focused and things did not go my way, my first response was to point out mistakes of others. It was not just pointing it out but nagging about it as if the extra nagging would change the mistake. It won't! On the contrary, it only put unneccasary tension in the relationship.

But, when I have been Jesus-focused or others focused, love covered over the mistakes. It does not mean the mistake did not happen or the consequences of the mistake went away but my love for the other person was greater than the mistake because my focus was not self-centered. So, the mistake was forgotten because of the power of love.

My marriage to my loving Chandraleela has been the strongest when I focused on loving her than when I kept pointing her mistakes. No one wants to be nagged about the mistakes they have done because they cannot change what happened. Also, it hurts them to be reminded of their mistakes. The reverse is true too when I have made mistakes. When my precious wife nags me about those mistakes, I feel condemned.

The Lord Jesus knows these kind of things happen in a marriage so He reminds us when we say we love one another, we need to forget their mistakes instead of nagging about them. So, for the longest time my wife and I would not nag each other about our mistakes but show our love for one another through this simple act of forgetting instead of nagging.

How true God's Word is when He says, 'Love covers over a multitude of sins!'

Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated that in our own lives when He took upon Himself all the multitude of our sins by dying on the cross at Calvary, shedding His precious Blood for us to wipe away all the sin. Then, He came back to life to save us. It is His love for us that made Him forget all our mistakes.

For the Word of the Lord says when the Lord forgives us of our sin, they are cast into the sea of forgetfulness, to be remembered no more! Wow! How powerful that is that the Lord casts our sins in the sea of forgetfulness to be remembered no more!

If a Holy God who is perfect does that for me because of His love for me, who am I to remember the mistakes of others without forgetting about them!

"There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, for the power of the life giving Spirit has freed us from the power of sin and death!" (Romans 8:1)

When two people of the opposite sex are the best of friends, it usually leads to marriage because they want to spend the rest of their lives together.

Yet, marriages break apart between best of friends because there is no love but more nagging than forgetting. If every marriage is lived out as Jesus Christ loves us to put our sins in the sea of forgetfulness when we are sorry for them and repent of them, how many marriages between the best of friends can be saved because mistakes are forgotten instead of always being remembered. Love will rule!

I ask you now dear friend, what will L.O.V.E do for you?
Dear friend, what love did for me is what Jesus did for me when He died on the cross for my past, present, and future sins to be remembered no more because of His love for me. It did not end there but He came back to life to save me and show me how love should be lived out. It starts with Jesus. When our marriage is strong, it is because of our love for Jesus which permeates us to love one another deeply. Thank you Jesus.

So friend if you are married, focus on FORGETTING MISTAKES than NAGGING MISTAKES. But, this principle of love should not be confined to marriage alone. It should also be applied in a parent-child relationship, brother-sister relationship, employer-employee relationship, etc where we are to love one another. We cannot on our own but with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ we can for He will remind us and help us to remember what love will do for us.

It is beautifully stated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: "Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him."

"Love Offers Victorious Encouragement!' (L.O.V.E.)/"What will L.O.V.E do for you?"

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me the importance of forgetting vs nagging. Oh Lord, you want my focus to be on love because love forgets mistakes. Help me Oh Lord never to nag my loved ones about their mistakes but always remember what you have done for me when you put my sins in the sea of forgetfulness to be remembered no more. If you have done that for us, how much we need to do Oh Lord not to remember the mistakes of our loved ones or nag about them. Thank you so much Jesus. We depend on you. Thank you for loving us and dying for our sin by shedding your precious cleansing blood for us. Thank you for coming back to life to save us. Help us to live for you and serve you. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

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