1 John 4:7-12 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, my heart was moved to cry out for grace.   The kingdom operates from love.  All God is, all God does, and all God has flows from Love.   It is who He is.  

Love refuses to be complacent and fights to complete its object. 

The incredibly simple but enormously complex directive of Matthew 18:15-35 is only possible through the power of love.  We tend to make Matthew 18:18-20 separate from vv. 15-17.  That robs us of the spiritual.

Out of the overflow of love comes the unrelenting desire for restoration.   We forbid bitterness of heart and release love and miracles into our lives.  Healing comes.  Restoration comes.  Power manifests itself.  Lives are transformed beyond those directly involved because love is the most powerful witness on earth.

The example Jesus used on debt makes the necessity of unrestricted forgiveness clear.  When we consider what He has forgiven us of, we are forced to compare that to any offense that comes to us. 

If we are faced with impossible situations and no answer seems forthcoming, we need to ask ourselves a penetrating question: Is there any hint of unforgiveness in our hearts toward anyone?

Do not justify it, gloss over it, or deny it.  Have we fully released that person?  Can we be around them without bristling inside or feeling the pain all over again?   Is the wound still sore?  Do we have an inner sneer when they speak?  If so, maybe we have not forgiven fully from the heart.

Matthew 18:19 – “…If two of you ask God for something in a symphony of prayer, My heavenly Father will do it for you.”

Can you pray for and with the person you forgave?  Can you agree with them in prayer?  Can you manifest the love of God to them and for them?

I want nothing to be allowed to stand between me and God.  I want nothing to hinder my access to the throne.  I want nothing to hinder the Gospel.   Love heals, but unforgiveness produces festive wounds that hinder faith and freedom.

When we stand before Jesus, and He asks, “Did you learn to love?”  What will we be able to say?   Love is demonstrated, and if our attitudes, thoughts, words, and deeds do not agree with our profession, we won’t be able to say, “Yes, Lord!”

We have authority, but Love must prevail for it to function fully.  Love releases power that would be tyrannical if released outside of love.  The Isaiah 61 anointing only comes through love!   Father, forgive me for not loving as You love, and help me to begin now!  Nothing is impossible in Him!

Keep looking up and expecting; God never fails!