1 John 4:7-21
God is LOVE
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
John 3:16-17
God's Love for the World
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him
Matthew 22:37-40
Two Greatest Commandments
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Luke 7:36-50
Jesus on LOVE and Forgiving
36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Matthew 18:21-35
Jesus on Forgiving
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Luke 23:34
Jesus Forgives Those Who Nailed Him to the Cross
34 "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
Since God is LOVE and Jesus teaches and went about forgiving others, you would think that forgiving would be easy or easier...And God LOVE's the world and each one of us...When you love, you must be able to learn how to forgive...When one can forgive much, then one can love much...God's forgiveness is boundless...And when One can forgive infinitely, One can LOVE infinitely...
God sent His Son to teach us about His type of LOVE and forgiveness...Jesus teaches us that the two greatest commandments are about LOVE...We are to God with all heart, all our mind, and all our soul...We are also to LOVE are neighbor...Jesus also teaches us much on forgiveness...He teaches us that unless we can forgive others and do it abundantly only then we are better able to love much...Jesus forgave those who nailed Him to the cross...
I think in His parable of the ungrateful and unmerciful servant, we learn about His type of forgiveness and about ours...God LOVE's us and forgives us for our many sins...Yet, when the king forgives the servant of his large debt of ten thousand talents -he expects his servant to learn from this...The servant, on the other hand, has someone who owes him only a few dollars...Because his debtor cannot pay these few dollars, the servant puts the man who owes him in prison...
God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins...By Jesus dying on the cross, we are set free from our sins and He has forgiven us...
God is the King, and we owe Him everything...We owe Him our lives and everything we have accumulated, because He is our Creator and Maker...God is full of grace and is ready to forgive us when we confess to Him that we have sinned...Our sin debt can be tremendous and He still forgives us...God's forgiveness is limitless towards us...And He sent His Son for us and our sins and to be our Savior (of our sins)...So when someone has trespassed on us or we get hurt by another, and we want to hold on to it and not forgive -we must learn from Him...Without the ability to forgive, we may wind up bitter, have resentment, and blame another for something they have done to us...This does not lead to a happy and full life...God's Son teaches us that we are to forgive others when they sin against us...Without our ability to forgive our neighbor, how can we love him?...