Love Keeps No Record of Being Wronged
1 Corinthian 13 talks about the different characteristics of love. One of my favourite, which totally blows my mind but also makes me see that to love God’s way takes the help of the Holy Spirit, is “… It keeps no record of being wronged” (1 Corinthians 13:5- New Living Translation). Wow, this humanly speaking is impossible but by the grace of God, it is totally possible. For with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
Joseph is someone in the bible who definitely displayed this. Wow!! First of all, Joseph was brought up in a family where the atmosphere was very tense. His dad, Jacob, loved Rachel, his mum, and was so in love with her that he decided to work for her dad, Laban for 7 years to have her as his wife. The wedding day came and so intoxicated with love; he went in to “her”, only to realize the next day that the dad had given him her sister, Leah, to marry. Jacob was obviously upset and felt betrayed but he was head over heels in love with Rachel. He decided to work for another 7 years for his beloved bride. Wow, 14 years to get Rachel. That is definitely a longggggg chase period lol. Now, because Rachel was not able to get pregnant and Leah was popping children quite frequently, jealousy arose and Rachel asked for her maid to go in to Jacob and bear children for her. As the maid did, Leah also decided to do the same with her maid. So now, Jacob has 4 women on his hands and they are pushing him around to produce children. Later on, Rachel gives birth to Joseph and he grows up in this toxic atmosphere of hate and jealousy.
Regardless of the atmosphere Joseph grew up in, he did not allow that to contaminate who he was. He displayed the complete opposite of what the world would expect such a person to be – angry, bitter and filled with so much rage! We can see that Joseph was filled with love and he clearly expressed it to his half brothers by telling them his dream. Even though they already hated him because they realized Jacob loved him more than the rest of them, which was evident from the colourful tunic he gave to Joseph (Parents, note that favouritism in a family will breed hatred), I don’t believe Joseph was aware of this “strong hate”. He might have just explained it away that his brothers were just “messing” with him as some older brothers normally do to their younger ones but not actually meaning it. So, the next time he had another dream, he went back to them and his father and told them the dream (Genesis 37). Then one day, he was sent to check on his brothers and when he finally found them, they took a hold of him and placed him inside a dry pit. Not again!, Joseph might have thought, not until they brought him out of the pit. At this point, he might have been thinking, “C’mon guys, this prank is going too far…. I’m going to let dad know of this and you all are in big trouble”. But thinking it was still the same old prank; his face might have dropped when the Ishmaelites bound him with ropes. Still thinking he is been pranked, he would have been shocked to see money being exchanged and eventually he's pushed into the Ishmaelites’ caravan. At that point, it might have finally dawned that this is no joke…. He is actually being sold as a slave to the Egyptians. Wrestling to run away and at the same time pleading with his brothers with tears rolling down his eyes, there was no turning back. Wow! This must have been the height of betrayal!
Fast-forwarding to years when Joseph is made the governor over all Egypt and his brothers come down to get some grain. Lots of things happened before Joseph revealed his identity. This could have been the perfect time to repay the evil that Joseph’s brothers did to him and really make them suffer especially since he was in charge of the storehouses in Egypt. Contrary to the normal desire of the flesh, Joseph instead shows love to his brothers. He ensures they are well taken care of and even gets them jobs with Pharaoh (Genesis 47:1-6).
Despite the evil done to Joseph, Joseph kept no record of the wrong done to him. Instead he showed unconditional love. Yes, it might seem impossible to do, but with God, all things are possible.
In order to love this way, in order to love without keeping any record of any wrong, it takes the help of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who would show you the step by step process to love this way. To gain access to the Holy Spirit, you need to open your heart to Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior. If you will like to make this decision today, please repeat this prayer:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Son of God and I believe You died for me on the cross of Calvary. I know I am a sinner and today, I come to You to forgive me of all my sins and to make me a brand new creation. I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you Lord for forgiving me and making me born again, in Jesus name, Amen”.
Congratulations!!!! You are now a born-again Christian (It simply means a new born baby in Christ and there is loads of celebration in heaven because of YOU!)
If you made this decision, please leave a comment on this post or reach out to us at https://www.cccghq.org/contact/
By: Pastor Ibukun Adewusi