Unshackled Moments ~ December 19 ~ Never Having To Say Sorry

Love means never having to say you're sorry. It means wanting to. Yes, I am serious, but no, I am not talking about that kind of wanting to say we're sorry because we walked by a butterfly which then flapped it's wings and six weeks later a hurricane formed and we didn't mean to destroy peoples' lives like that. I am not talking about trying to accept responsibility and make apologies for things that caused no damage or wasn't damage done by us. And I am also not talking about treating someone so coldly or badly or keeping them at such a distance that they come to the point where they want to say their sorry.

I'm talking about love and how it changes us from selfish, self-centered people into caring children of God. When we love God we will want to please Him, and when we know that we have done wrong, we will want to acknowledge it, accept our forgiveness, make it right with anyone we hurt and move on. Loving God is going to make us want to be right with Him and clean before Him.

Loving God also means loving those God loves, and that means others. What others? Every other you come across. And saying you're sorry, making amends and making it right with those others is so important to God that He said He'd rather that we go make restoration in our relationships with people than that we come and worship and make sacrifices to Him. Before you serve me, repent to your brother. Make it right. Not because you have to, but out of love for Me, for him and for yourself. You can't serve Me right if you are pretending not to be wrong in relationships where you were wrong, if you are feuding and fighting with someone that I need you to love, and you can not be a light to Me if every time you try to shine the light of My love someone can point out how you wronged them and never even tried to make it right. Love will want those issues settled so that we can be of maximum service to God and others.

If we are walking in love, we will be quick to forgive. So, there won't be any of that manipulative, passive aggressive (or just plain aggressive) treatment of someone to make them clean their yard. Clean your own property and let their trash go. If you really want to love like Jesus did then you clean your trash (He didn't have any), any of their trash that blew or got thrown onto your property, and then you offer to clean their property for them for free. You forgive before they ever say sorry, whether out of wanting to or feeling that they should, and even if they never do.

Love is not about who says sorry and why. Love is all about wanting to do what will enable that love to shine into the darkness of others and not blocking the flame with unforgiveness, with refusing to make amends for our stuff until they acknowledge their part, and with trying to excuse, justify and shift blame. Love is able to take responsibility and admit wrong and try to restore what was damaged because love is not afraid of rejection or judgment. There is no need to fear either of those things when we know that LOVE came and made a way for us to be forever accepted by Daddy and clean before Him.

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