1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it KEEPS NO RECORD OF BEING WRONGED. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
"My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost is lost forever." -Mr. Darcy (from Pride and Prejudice)
Mr. Darcy is not acting very loving, is he? Once someone offends him, he says that they cannot easily win him back. Is that the way we should act? No! God is very merciful and forgiving to us. The Bible tells us that if we ask for His forgiveness, he is faithful and just to fogive us our sins. As far as the East is from the West and as deep as the ocean is wide is how far away he takes our sins from us.
Matthew 18:21-22 "Then Peter came up and said to him, 'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.'"
Many times we don't even know that we are keeping records of others' wrongs. We assume that people will always act the way they have acted before, and therefore don't often see when they are trying to change for the best. Look around you today. If there is anyone you have neglected to forgive, forgive them as Christ has forgiven you. If there is someone who has hurt you in the past, give them another chance. They may surprise you!
Proverbs 18:19- "An offened friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars."
"It's better, no doubt, to handle problems with friends and family before they blow up into something greater. Compared with letting a dispute simmer, settling the matter early can be as easy as walking through an open gate. Perhaps that's a gate you can take advantage of today." -Dare 2 B Wise
Please forgive others, because God forgave you! Everyone is a sinner, and has fallen short of God's standard. Love never fails. If there is someone you are trying to win back today, make sure you come to them with forgiveness in your heart.
Ephesians 5:32- "Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."
-Jenna Hampton
with Mr. Darcy and Dare 2 B Wise
