Day 38: Disappearing List

“Love keeps no record of wrongs.” 1 Corinthians 13:5

I am a list maker.

I have a list of to do’s, a list of errands, a list to keep track of possible gift ideas for those I love, an entire notebook devoted to dreams, and goals, a list of books to read, a list of places I might like to visit, and then of course, there is the grocery list, the daily lesson plan for my daughter’s home school lessons, and to tie it all together, the daily, weekly, and monthly planner. When I travel there is a packing list, a list of to do’s for the dog sitter/house sitter, and then the list of places to go and things to see once I arrive at my destination. Now that I am back in college there is the list of classes I must complete, a list of reading assignments to be tackled, and the most foreboding list of all: the list of papers to be written.

Simply creating a list of all my lists can seem confusing, and there is perhaps the concern that I will be found one day buried under a mountain of hand-scrawled to do lists having met an inky demise, but in practice they are the key to organization in my little world, and often are the lines that string together my otherwise disconnected dots.

I take comfort in the knowledge that I also serve a God that takes the time to make a list or two, keeping track of every tear I cry, listing my name in His book of life, keeping a record of the genealogy of Jesus, so that I can see that He uses ordinary people to bring forth the extraordinary. Lists of the building materials and specifications needed for ark building tell me He is a God of detail, and order, while the lists of the design and job assignments for the temple built by the Israelites show that He is a God who loves beauty and workmanship.

Of all these lists, some penned on scraps of paper by human hands, and some breathed into life and written for eternity by the Holy Spirit, it is the two lists that are not kept that overshadow all the others:

As if with disappearing ink, the list of my sins no longer can be seen, in its place a sacrifice that exemplifies the very definition of perfect love; it keeps no record of wrongs. It is much more difficult to eliminate the second list, as it must be created by the paper and pen that I never choose to pick up, the offenses I choose to cover with love, the wrongs I do not record.

In my humanness I find there is a great propensity to not only keep a list of the wrongs perpetuated against me, but on occasion, I find myself trying to erect a full size billboard in a place of prominence, and my flesh wars with those six giant sized words: LOVE KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS, and then I am reminded of the most beautiful list of all, and I hear, “As you have been forgiven, my darling one…

Forgive.”


Lord,

Teach me to love with Your heart: Moment by moment, in the sweet, and in the hurtful moments, day by day, and for all of my days.

Your Beloved