Daily Devotion: No Record

Scripture:
1 Corinthians 13

Main Verse:
1 Corinthians 13: 5d
(Love) does not keep a record of wrongs.

Observation:
The Lord himself showed us what it means to love others. A person may be able to speak in tongues, to prophecy, to be faithful, and to be generous, but without love in one's heart, all of these is futile. When the Lord sacrificed himself on the cross, it was out of love. That is why the author of 1 Corinthians gave us the perfect definition of love in chapter 13:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Application:
When we need an NBI clearance, we expect it to have something written like "No Derogatory Record," or something similar. This means that we have a clean record with the police and have not done any criminal offenses whatsoever. When someone has hurt us, especially someone close to our heart, we feel so upset with the person.  Sometimes, years have passed but we still cannot forgive and forget the wrong that has been done to us. We keep a record of the person's past mistakes. When we remember the pain, we relive the past. But 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that true love does not keep a record of wrongdoing, of offenses that someone has done to us. If the Lord can forgive even the most evil person in the world, then we ought to be able to forgive, too.

Prayer:
Father, teach me to have a forgiving heart, a heart that does not keep a record of wrongdoings. May everyone, especially my loved ones, feel in me Your love. AMEN.