Love Practices Self-Control, Forgets Past Wrongs

Among the greatest of God’s gifts are faith, hope, and love; the greatest of these is
love (1 Cor.13:13).

What is love? It is the holy character of God. Paul elucidates its meaning in 1 Cor. 13,
explaining how love manifests itself—what love does and doesn’t do. Love is patient
and kind, humble and good-natured, unselfish and compassionate. It does not brag,
nor envy others, nor act unseemly. What else do we learn about love?

Love is not irritable. It is not easily provoked to anger because it exercises control of
the inner passions. If people must “walk on eggshells” when interacting with you, then
you do not possess this most divine of graces.

This is not to say that a loving person never gets angry. There are times and
circumstances when anger is appropriate. Righteous indignation is a godly reaction to
evil. But Paul warns, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your
anger” (Eph. 4:26). The slightest annoyance can ignite a fuming and irate response in
some people. What else would explain the numerous incidents of “road rage” on our
public streets?

Love does not permit a moment of irritation to combust into a hot, raging inferno.
“(Love) corrects a sharpness of temper, sweetens and softens the mind, so that it
does not suddenly conceive, nor long continue, a vehement passion. Where the fire of
love is kept in, the flames of wrath will not easily kindle, nor long keep burning”
(Matthew Henry).

Love is not resentful. A resentful person keeps a running tally of hurts, insults, and
offenses done to him in the past. We call it bearing or holding a grudge. The NIV
translates the verse, “it keeps no record of wrongs.” The person who feels resentment
towards an individual who treated him badly cannot or will not forget the trespass.
They’re not willing to “forgive and forget.”

Forgive and forget—isn’t that what God has promised those who seek Him? “For this
is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the
LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their
God and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor
and each his brother, saying ‘know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the
least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I
will remember their sin no more.” (Jer.31:33-34; cf. Heb.8:10-12).

This is why love is the holy character of God, for in the way He deals with us and our
sins, it shows the magnanimity of His gracious nature. If we can overcome our
pettiness, shed our thin skins, and perfect the love of God ourselves, then we are
pursuing the noblest and most supreme aspiration that anyone can imagine.
– Kurt Paquett