Love Keeps No Record

We love these verses from the ‘Love Chapter’ don’t we., don’t we? 

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others. (1Corinthains 13: 4-5, MSG)

These words are so comforting, so holy.  But I suggest to you that we often miss the last line.

Love doesn’t keep score of the sins of others. Some versions translate this as ‘love keeps no record of wrongs.

Meanwhile, many of us still concentrate our thoughts on what happened in our childhood, or on the car that cut us off on the way to work, or the parent who didn’t parent well. In cow language, this is called ruminating. A cow takes the food previously eaten and rechews it. I know, gross indeed. But the cow only ruminates the same food for seven hours or so.  Face it, friends, we’ve ruminated the same hurts for years.

If you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:15, NIV)