I have experienced painful betrayals like just about everyone on the planet, so when I hear the word betrayal the hair on my arm stands up and my lip tightens at just the thought.
Although I haven't been divorced, just ask anyone who has been and they will testify to the pain they experienced through the betrayal of broken vows. As much as we cringe, gawk and indignantly oppose the injustice of betrayal, we never stop to think about the guilt of our own betrayal to the Lord.
Did you know that even God experienced betrayal and that God was divorced? The Bible says God divorced Israel do to her unfaithfulness. The Bible is full of history recording God’s unfaithful people. There are no two ways about it, we are unfaithful beings.
Yet as much as we accuse others and God Himself of betraying us, God is the One who forgave our unfaithfulness when He took the sin of the world upon His shoulders. Now wouldn't you think having received His forgiveness, we ought to love more.
Hearing about our own sinful hearts doesn’t necessarily make it easier to take when a business partner walks off with what is not his, a church slanders a member, or a wife or husband discover that their spouse has been cheating. However, it may help us look at our own heart and recount our own unfaithfulness.
When we are pointing out the plank in our brothers eye it’s a good time to take into account what John said in 1 John 1:8-10. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It may not be comfortable, but love is a choice. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]. (AMP)
When I decided I wanted to move past the betrayals in my life, I had to make a choice. I had to acknowledge my own unfaithfulness. I had to follow the advice given in Colossians 3:14. “…put on love which is the perfect bond of unity.”
“Putting on love” takes practice and persistence, sort of like throwing dough into the air to make a pizza. The more we practice the better we're able to stretch and take on new shape.
