December 10

I Peter 4:8 tells us that “…love covers a multitude of sins.’ That is nowhere more evident than in Jesus on the cross. Because He loves us so much, He lived the sinless live we cannot live and died the death we’re no longer required to die. We who believe in Him are to be imitators of Christ. So, we must forgive.

Forgiveness does not come naturally to fallen man. The old saying is, “I don’t get mad, I get even.” Left to ourselves, we will be part of an endless cycle of offense and retaliation. Left without Jesus, we would be no better than ravenous beasts who fall upon their prey and fall upon one another.

But when we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, when we have allowed His Holy Spirit to remold and reshape us into a reflection of Himself, we can appropriate the beautiful words of II Corinthians 13:11 which say, “Brethren…be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace—and the God of love and grace will be with you.”

It is a beautifully completed cycle—He loves us, He lives for us, we see our need, we allow Him to supply our need, we are transformed from darkness to light and from hatred to love. When that happens, He takes us from glory to glory—perfecting us to dwell eternally with Him. Knowing the peace that comes with this comforting awareness allows His grace to be manifested to others through us.