Walking each day for exercise, in the wintertime, means walking in the rain.
Usually, winter rains are gentle showers. However yesterday it was absolutely dumping rain. It was raining so hard I decided to pull on my waterproof pants over top of what I was already wearing. I chose to wear my waterproof hiking shoes … rather than my normal walking shoes. My coat was waterproof … and I carried an umbrella.
As I was all bundled up in waterproof gear, carrying my umbrella, walking loops around my front gravel drive in the rain I pondered the next blog topic – Love keeps no record of wrongs.
Love is sort of like all this waterproof gear.
Without the waterproof hiking shoes my feet would be soaked within minutes. Without the waterproof pants my pant legs would be soaked by the time I finished walking loops an hour later.
The umbrella shielded me but drops still dripped down off the back and onto my waterproof coat. The rain blew sideways in gusts as I walked. I was so thankful for waterproof gear.
Life itself dumps disappointments on us.
Life “rains” on us.
People whom we care about do things which crush us.
Love is like waterproof gear, protecting our heart from getting “soaked through.”
Love is waterproof hiking shoes … keeping our “steps” dry us as we “walk” through puddles/”valleys” of disappointment in life. Love keeps no record of wrongs. The “wrongs” shed off, like water being impervious to my waterproof hiking shoes. Our “steps through life” don’t “squish” and “squelch.” Love keeps us from getting “soaked through.”
Love is like my waterproof rain pants which I pulled on over top of what I was already wearing. Just like the water was shed off the waterproof pants as I waked round and round and round my front gravel drive, so also love sheds off hurts which are done over and over and over. As we come around one more time in life, there’s one more hurt. We loop around one more time, and that person disappoints us one more time. We come around one more time, and our heart is crushed one more time.
Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love shed the hurts, time after time after time. Each time we come back around trying to love on that person, and the hurt “splatters” on us … love sheds the hurt so we can keep on going and not get “soaked through” with bitterness.
Love is like the umbrella over my head. Love covers our mind. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Walking loops for an hour would have been miserable if my head was soaked from the rain. The rain would have run down my head and soaked through my clothes. So also, when it comes to life, it would be miserable trying to walk through life with our mind and thoughts absolutely soaked from all the wrongs done against us.
Just like the rain would have run down my head and soaked through my clothes, so also a mind soaked through with unhealthy thoughts of wrongs done will ultimately wind up running down into our soul. A continually soaked mind with unhealthy thoughts will lead to a sick soul. Love keeps no record of wrongs.
My waterproof coat kept me dry from drips which slid off the umbrella and dripped down my back. It also kept me dry from the rain blowing sideways. So also, in the same way, love keeps our heart dry from the drips of wrongs which slide down our back, and which blow in sideways at us. Love keeps our “vital organs” (so to speak) dry from the “soaking” of wrongs. Love keeps no record of wrongs.
The rain will come in life. People will disappoint us. People will crush us. People will do things which hurt us.
How do we get the “waterproof gear” to keep us dry??
Answer: the Holy Spirit
If we have repented of our sin and surrendered our life to follow Jesus Christ, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to live inside us and to help us. The Holy Spirit gives us the very love of God himself.
The Holy Spirit gives us the love to “waterproof” our “steps” as we walk through life.
The Holy Spirit gives us the love to “waterproof” our “pant legs” as we come around time after time after time … continually trying to love someone and, in turn, continually getting “splashed” and “splattered” with hurt. The ability to not keep a record of wrongs comes from the Holy Spirit. The love flows from the Holy Spirit at work in our life.
The Holy Spirit gives us the love as an “umbrella” to cover our mind.
The Holy Spirit gives us the love as a “waterproof coat” to keep us dry from hurts dripping down our back, trying to soak through to our soul. The Holy Spirit gives us the love to keep us dry from hurts which blow in sideways at us.
Love keeps no record of wrongs.
Love is “waterproof” … love “sheds” the record of wrongs through the power of the Holy Spirit.
