‘Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.’ Proverbs 10:12(NLT)
‘Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.’ Proverbs 17:9(NLT)
‘Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. ‘ Romans 12:9(NLT)
‘Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.’ Romans 12:21(NLT)
‘Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.’ Ephesians 5:1-2(NLT)
‘Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. ‘ 1 Peter 4:8(NLT)
‘“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.’ Matthew 7:3-5(NLT)
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” I Corinthians 13:6 NIV
We skim over this scripture never considering that we’d delight in evil. But could our judgments against another be just that—evil?
“He got what he deserved.”
“Serves her right.”
“They had it coming.”
These are words and thoughts the Holy Spirit would never inspire. I’ve been there many times—agreeing with evil and adding to its power.
Here’s what I have learned: every person on earth is fully and completely loved by our God. He loves everyone the same as He loves me, no matter what they’ve done. Sin is sin is sin, including my evil thoughts. All sin separates us from God, from love.
1 Corinthians 13:7 TPT offers a solution to these evil thoughts:
“Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others….”
Love should be the base point of our thoughts and attitudes toward one another—the worst felon or our resistant teen. Love focuses on the heart rather than the behavior. This activation of our love is not to excuse one’s conduct; rather, it gives us spiritual eyes to see the person behind their pain.
Our love toward another is a safe place of shelter that covers over bad attitudes and disappointing conduct with a blanket of compassion and grace rather than expressing our self-righteous assessments. Truth, spoken without love, is a bruising and crushing weapon.
You may be thinking, “But you don’t know about my lying spouse, my defiant teen, or my hateful co-worker.”
Even in the face of conflict with the most difficult person, we can take a deep breath of God’s Spirit, which will give us the ability to believe the best of them—to see them with His eyes. Love chooses a gracious response over an emotional reaction. Why else would this scripture say so, if it were not possible?
Love pulls another into grace as we lay these people and their problems into the hands of a loving God who is the only solution to our difficult relationships. The speck in another’s eye quickly diminishes as we deal with the plank in our own.
God invites us to step into the safe shelter of His Love, bringing those difficult people with us.
“His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you. You can run under his covering of majesty and hide….” Psalms 91:4 TPT
from Love Is a Person by Robin Meadows