Faith, Love, & Forgiveness

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.  One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:34–39 NIV 

What a beautiful gift to have God’s will for our lives boiled down to these two invitations: to love God first and then love our neighbors as ourselves. 

What does it look like to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind? In part, it looks like faith. It takes faith to trust that God will do what He says He will do. Faith enables us to believe that God will help us forgive someone who has wronged us. Faith empowers us to release control to God and trust Him with the outcome.  

We also fulfill these two greatest commandments by remembering that we love because God first loved us! (I John 4:19). And what is God’s love like? His love is unconditional, steady, steadfast, and permanent. God’s love never fails because God never fails and God is Love. In I Corinthians 13 we are told three things last forever: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest . . . is love! 

We cannot fully receive God’s love nor love others without forgiveness. Forgiveness allows the heart to feel free once again and brings healing to the soul. Forgiveness brings inner joy and peace where unforgiveness harbored bitterness, anger, and pain. Forgiving yourself or another is a faith journey we go through with a loving God holding our hand every step of the way.  

Faith, love, and forgiveness are foundational in loving God supremely with all our heart, soul, and mind, which in turn strengthens us to love our neighbor. Being in relationship with others means we inevitably find ourselves in situations that require forgiveness—sometimes for the other person, sometimes for ourselves. When we recognize the incredible gift of God’s forgiveness in our lives, we can live from a posture of grace.  

There is a scene in the Bible that paints a vivid picture of the power of faith, love, and forgiveness. The story is about Jesus walking up to a woman who is drawing water out of a well at a most inconspicuous time of day, hoping to not be seen by anyone. Jesus, a Jew, is sitting at the well and kindly asks the Samaritan woman for a drink. At that time, this would have been culturally unacceptable on many levels. Jesus not only lovingly spoke with the Samaritan woman but also began telling her of things only she could have known about her current situation and her struggling past. Jesus offered unconditional love and forgiveness, and the woman had the faith to receive it. Instantly, a feeling of relief, acceptance, and joy drove the Samaritan woman to leave her jar of water and run back to town to tell others about everything that had happened to her. Because of her faith and because Jesus met her exactly where she was, loving her unconditionally and offering forgiveness that brought freedom where shame had lived for so long, her powerful testimony brought many others to the same saving faith in Jesus. 

We can entrust our entire lives to God! 
 

Prompts to Ponder 

Print out our Faith, Love, and Forgiveness Worksheet, or grab a fresh journal or sheet of paper and think on these questions. 

How did Jesus provide the Samaritan woman with all she would ever need? (Read John 4:7-30 for the full story.) How does this question apply to you? 

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. II Corinthians 9:8 NLT 

List the many ways that you overtly and covertly love God daily with your whole heart. 

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 NLT 

How do you think the Samaritan woman felt after Jesus accepted her just as she was, forgave her sins, loved her unconditionally, and spoke truth over her that forever changed her life? What part of her story is your story too? 

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. Ephesians 3:18 NLT 

How have you seen love cover offenses in your own life, either for an offense you committed or for an offense that someone committed against you? 

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Proverbs 10:12 NASB 

Is forgiveness something you do well? Or is it an area of struggle? Explain. 

This is an excerpt from Faith, Love, Forgiveness, a devotional journal from licensed professional counselor, author, and founder of Tangible Truth Ministries Susan Goss.