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A theme I used for a couple of wedding sermons over the years was “Remember and Forget.” I would talk about the list of things we have looked at the last couple of days, the things love does and does not do as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. But in my previous devotions I skipped over one phrase so that we could give it special attention today:

 1 Corinthians 13:5  [Love] keeps no record of wrongs.

There are things you should remember and things you should forget. In a marriage, you need to remember your anniversary. You need to remember to do your chores. You need to remember the promises you made to each other. You need to remember that both of you are dearly loved children of God. A successful marriage is based on remembering who you are, what you have promised, and to whom you belong.

But you will also need to forget some things. “Love … keeps no record of wrongs.” The forgetting can be just as difficult as the remembering, and it is just as important. We are all sinners. We will do wrong. Love means forgiving and forgetting. That means once you forgive someone for something, you should not keep bringing up.

While that is certainly true and important in the marriage relationship, God tells us we should love all people that way. After all, you have a relationship with Jesus that is based on remembering and forgetting. Jesus remembers your needs, your concerns and your dreams. He hears your prayers and promises to never leave you. He remembers.

But Jesus also forgets. He forgives you and forgets your sins. He died on the cross to pay for your sins and keeps no record of them because of your faith in Him.

Hebrews 8:12 “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (A Quote of Jeremiah 31:34)

Remember the love Jesus has shown you in offering Himself as the payment for your sins. And when you forgive someone, you should forget that person’s faults and failures, because love keeps no record of wrongs.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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.

There is a lot in this brief passage describing the characteristics of God’s love. While you often hear this read at weddings, it is important to note that this passage is speaking about love, not marriage. It is a description of how God’s people should love others. Some phrases say what love does not do, while others speak of the positive attributes of love. I want to share some thoughts on these characteristics of God’s love with you over the next several days.

Love is patient.  Lack of patience causes problems in any relationship. When Cheryl and I got married, she did not know how to cook. I could have told her to learn or else, but that would not have been too pleasant for either one of us. Instead, I told her I’d give her 25 years to learn how. We have been married over 44 years now and I still do almost all the cooking. Of course, she has displayed remarkable patience in putting up with all my shortcomings. Patience is a necessary part of love.

Love is kind. Tenderness will go a long way. It is especially helpful if you can be kind when you are tempted to be critical. When someone is already feeling depressed because of a mistake, do you think it would be better to criticize or speak a kind word? Which would you rather hear? Be kind to one another.

Love does not envy. Jealousy is never good. Envy leads to resentment and anger, but that is not the way of love. If you love others the way God loves, that should lead you to rejoice in the good fortune of others.

Love does not boast. Every person has different abilities. Some do some things better than others. Love leads you to share what you are good at doing with others.

Love is not proud. Pride is a major obstacle to overcome in resolving conflict. Pride keeps you from backing down, even if you know you are wrong. You can’t be too proud to say, “I was wrong, and I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” That is a big part of love. Pride can keep you from being the loving person God wants you to be.

Love is not rude, self-seeking, or easily angered. I think you can see that these things would be destructive rather than constructive in trying to establish a good relationship with another person. Rudeness is never welcome. Concern only for self does not promote unity. Easily losing your temper won’t be helpful. Those actions do not come from love.

Remember, Paul is talking about the kind of love God has for you, the kind of love He wants you to imitate. Love is not simply a feeling. It is what you do and what you don’t do. We’ll continue these thoughts tomorrow.

Paul wrote a large portion of the New Testament. One passage in his writings is very familiar because it is used so often. Over the years you have read these words on needlepoint and bumper stickers and stained-glass windows. You’ve heard these words in songs and wedding vows. You may have heard them so often that they are not as meaningful as they should be to you. But these words are quite possibly the most profound ever written by Paul. They require our serious consideration. I’m referring to what is often called “The Love Chapter of the Bible,” 1 Corinthians 13.  We will be looking at this chapter in the days ahead, starting today with the first three verses.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

The beginning of this chapter tells us that all our deeds, without love, are of no value to God. That means we better get a handle on what God means when He tells us to love.

This chapter appears right in the middle of a discussion on spiritual gifts, which was something else the people of Corinth didn’t understand properly. Chapters 12 and 14 speak about gifts like healing, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge and speaking in tongues. Rather than changing the subject, this chapter ties into that discussion on gifts. The point Paul is making is that the main thing in a Christian life is not the ability to speak in tongues or heal an illness or any other gift. The most important thing in the life of a believer is the practice of Christian love. Read that last sentence again. This is not an exaggeration. Once you have come to faith in Christ, that is what you are to do: Love.

Christians are to model the love that God has shown to us. You are to mimic the love that drove Jesus to the cross, because nowhere do we see God’s love more clearly. You are to show others the love that has been shown to you.

When a couple would come to me asking to get married, I would require them to meet with me for at least three premarital counseling sessions. One of the questions I always asked in the first session was “Why do you want to get married?” What do you think the #1 answer was?  “Because we love each other.” I would reply by saying, “That’s great. So what does that mean? What does it mean to love?” Many of them had a hard time trying to define this word that we use so much day after day. They had to stop and think what they meant when they said “I love you.” Many of them could not put it into words.

Have you noticed how overused the word “love” is in our world today? We say “I love that car,” “I love your hair,” “I’d love to go with you,” “I just love what you’ve done with this place.”

And what about music? The majority of popular songs, regardless of the style of music, have to do with love! There are songs about ideal love, unfulfilled love, desired love, love that hurts, love gone bad, love that has been lost, or some other aspect of love.

When a word is overused to the extent that “love” is, it loses it’s meaning. That is why I decided to spend the next several days sharing devotional thoughts with you about what love is. I want us to remember what the Bible says about love, not the way the world defines it. In order to do that, we will need to look at some passages that speak of love. Let’s start with this one.

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Jesus repeated this command several times while having what we know as “The Last Supper” with His disciples. It must have been important if He kept repeating it. He wants us to love each other the way He loved and still loves us. In fact, He commands us to do so. That means we better understand what it means to love.

As you think about what it means to love, think about what Jesus did for you. He let Himself be killed so that you could be forgiven and live with Him forever. Something else He said that evening…

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

That is exactly what He did. The love the Bible describes is more that just a feeling or emotion. It is an action. You do something when you love like Jesus loves.

This has been an interesting month for me. I mentioned earlier that I as serving the saints down here at Fishers of Men in Port Isabel, Texas this month. I enjoy doing so. But this time, I’ve done so with Cheryl being gone about half of the time. Earlier this month her father was hospitalized, so she flew home to spend about five days with her mom and dad. And now, at the end of the month, she is in St. Louis serving Jesus with the Lutheran Women in Mission. We knew about this meeting before we came down here, but the other trip was not expected.

We don’t like to be apart. We have grown accustomed to being with each other over the last forty-five years. We kind of like each other, too.

A friend of mine down here in South Texas went to be with Jesus last Saturday. His wife is now making the adjustment to being unable to be with him for the rest of her life. We know he is rejoicing with our God, yet we still hurt because he is not with us.

As much as we try to prepare ourselves for separation from our loved ones, we are never totally prepared for the changes that occur when someone leaves us to go to heaven. Their faith in Jesus gives us the comfort of knowing that they are now better off, but we still grieve and mourn.

Jesus tried to prepare His disciples for His departure. On the night of the Last Supper, He said this.

John 16:16 “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

The following verses let us know the disciples were confused by what Jesus said at the time. Eventually, these words would make sense.

Jesus said these words just before He was betrayed, put on trial, beaten, sentenced to death, and crucified. It all happened in a matter hours. He did that to buy us back from sin and death. But in just a little while, on the third day, He rose from the grave and appeared to His disciples again. He defeated death for us all. They probably thought that was the end of it, but after a little while, 40 days later, He left again, ascending into heaven. We are now in that little while of waiting to see Him again, whether that be when we die or when He comes again in glory.

When Cheryl and I are separated, we know we will see each other again. My friend whose husband is in heaven knows she will see him again. We live in the confidence that belongs to those who have been washed in the blood of the lamb, who have forgiveness and the certainty of eternal life for Jesus’ sake.

This is the time of year when many folks think about the Reformation. This event returned the Church to the Bible as the source for our information about God and the standard that controls all our teachings about Him. We discover in the Word that fantastic message of God’s love for us in Christ that accomplished our forgiveness and salvation. That is the message that gives us life and joy, the message that we want to share with those who have not yet come to faith in Jesus. That is why God’s people should all be people who are IN THE WORD.

John 8:31-32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

As disciples or followers of Jesus, we all need to continue to be in His Word. I would often tell the members of my congregation, “If it is not in you, it won’t come out of you!” If you have not filled your heart and mind with God’s Word, how can you possibly share it with others? Regular time in His Word will get it into you.

There is a prayer that has been used in some traditions down through the years that is known as “The Collect for the Word.”  One of the newer renderings of it begins this way:

Blessed Lord, you have given us your Holy Scriptures for our learning. May we so hear them, read, learn and take them to heart, that being strengthened and comforted by your holy Word, we may cling to the blessed hope of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord…

In an earlier version of that prayer, instead of “take them to heart” it said “inwardly digest them.” That always reminded me that the Word is the spiritual nourishment we need for our day to day living.

Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

The reason the Word of God is so sweet is that it points us to our Savior. Martin Luther once wrote that the Scriptures are the cradle in which Christ lies. It is because God’s Word tells us all we need to know to receive forgiveness and life everlasting that we treasure it.

Followers of Jesus should seek answers to our questions by asking, “What does the Bible say?” God’s Word remains the final Word in all of our teachings.

Be in the Word.

Romans 7:24-25a What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! (NIV)

he Bible tells us that we are enemies of God. Original sin is a sickness that is terminal. Recognizing this can lead to fear, guilt and frustration. Paul was speaking about that frustration in his own life when he wrote these words: What I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. He lays bare his heart and soul. Sin had brought Paul frustration and failure. Remember how he had persecuted the early Christians. He stood by and watched as Stephen was stoned to death for preaching Jesus Christ as the way to forgiveness and eternal life. Paul had plenty of sin in his life, and that continued even after he came to faith and was a missionary.

In ancient Rome, torture was seen as a legitimate way to put teeth into their laws. You have heard about crucifixion, but they had other treacherous punishments as well. One particularly hideous one was binding a dead body to the back of a sentenced person. Under penalty of death, no one was allowed to release the condemned criminal from that dead body he was forced to carry around. Perhaps that image is what Paul had in mind when he wrote, What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Have you ever felt like that? Do you share that dark and dismal feeling of the apostle? Does your conscience nag and gnaw at you, condemning you with a long list of your sins and shortcomings? Is your conscience burdened with the wrong that you have done?

No doubt, you do feel frustration because of your sins. You have inherited sin, and this original sin shows itself daily in the form of all kinds of actual sins. Perhaps you tell shady stories. Your life may be tainted with foul language or moral compromises. There is greed, gossip, pride, pettiness, snide remarks, lust and laziness in the lives of Christians. Sin leads to doom, destruction and death. Does this make you feel fearful, perhaps frustrated? If so, then that really is good news.

The reason I say that is good news is that only a Christian will feel this conflict between the Spirit and the Flesh, the struggle between the new life to which you have been called and your old sinful self. A person who does not believe in the existence of God has no fear of offending him. But if you truly feel the frustration that comes from the sin in your life, then you are ready to hear the best news of all.

Paul took heart in the promises of the Gospel. It changed him from a persecutor of believers into a mighty witness for the Savior. Thanks be to God–through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul heard the message that Christ paid the penalty of sin in our place. Jesus Christ was put to death for our sins and raised again for our righteousness. He has overcome all sin … ALL SIN … everyone of them … even those that make you feel frustration and failure.

Romans 7:18-20 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.  20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Paul speaks of the wrong that he does being the fault of sin that lives in him. This is not an attempt to shift the blame away from himself. Rather, it is an admission of guilt. He knows that his sinful nature leads him to sin, which means the good that the “new man” wants to do is left undone.

Those who follow Jesus have the same conflict in their lives. You know what God’s law calls you to be. In gratitude for the deliverance that Jesus won for you, your desire is to live as God’s servant. But you find yourself in the same predicament Paul was in: I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.

That is such a good description of my life. Yours too? Some people understand this to mean the devil is always tempting us to sin. While that is true, that is not the main thrust of this passage. Rather than referring to an outside influence, Paul is speaking here of the evil that lives in him as a result of original sin. He knew that he was by nature an enemy of God, and this inner corruption made him susceptible to the temptations of the devil and the world.

Satan is surely at work. You know that to be true. If you recognize it, consciously, it will help you to deal with temptations as they come. Cheryl was talking to one of our daughters, about five years old at the time, who had done something wrong. Cheryl  mentioned that the devil is always trying to lead us to do things that make Jesus sad. She knew she was getting through when our daughter said, “I wish I could just zip up the Devil’s mouth!” If only it were that easy. We tend to think that it is the devil’s fault when we sin. The words “THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT” were once a popular saying in our society. But we can no more shift the blame away from ourselves than Paul did. We bear the responsibility for our actions. We are accountable for what we do.

Walter Matthau once presented an Academy Award for best editing. In doing so, he quipped, “I really need a life editor–one to edit out all of my mistakes!” In effect, that is what Christ has done for you. With faith in the death of Christ as the payment for your sins, in God’s sight you and I are perfect, pure and sinless.