Love and Forgiveness Word Study

My love for God should be gigantic the way I'm sinning and being forgiven!

I like the scripture in 1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears cannot be made perfect in love.

God spoke this scripture to me over and over and has always been quite perplexing for me. I believe what he is saying is that I'm His child, His son. I'm not an object of His wrath. He loves me even when I sin. His love gives me comfort when I'm afraid. I can come to Him without constantly fearing punishment.

Thought we ought to have a definition of love from the source of all love. Remember to not only apply this to others but to yourself as well.

1 Cor 13
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Now about FORGIVENESS:
Luke 17:4New International Version (NIV)

4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

This Scripture was always one of my favorite on "forgiveness" but also one that I had the hardest time with. Jesus says that if my brother commits a sin seven times in a row on the same day or seven different sins on the same day and each time comes to me and says "I repent" I MUST forgive him.
Now my flesh is saying, "NO WAY LORD." Seven times he committed this sin; surely he isn't willing to repent after that many times, so why forgive him. The Lord says, "I will deal with his heart as I will deal with yours also. Forgive your brother and free yourself from judging him and condemning him for his sin." I had to think long and hard about that. I didn't want to - but I had to do it Jesus' WAY. That's what I surrendered to. So I'm still in the learning process on this Scripture and hopefully one day it will become a part of my character. Until then I need to practice this verse everyday.

Colossians 3:12-14English Standard Version (ESV)

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

What we tend to forget is that forgiveness is not for the other person unless they repent to you but it is mainly for you. It isn't healthy to hang on to unforgiveness. It messes with you emotionally, spiritually, physically and in all your relationships.

Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

It is so hard to not let past hurts turn into bitterness. I am having that issue with my past. My dad was an alcoholic and now I am living with another alcoholic. I am comparing my brother to my dad. And the past feelings have surfaced. Got to work on this.

Hand in Hand with God: Finding Your Path to Forgiveness
There is no simple formula for forgiving. This book encourages you to understand your heart and the obstacles that make forgiveness difficult. Through exposition of scripture and compelling real-life examples this book will help you to learn how to trust God, let down your defenses, break through barriers, and walk closer to God than ever before–thus allowing genuine and lasting forgiveness.