Obligation or Love?

Have you ever received a gift out of obligation? Not the same as receiving it out of love is it? Wouldn't you say that doing something, receiving something, or giving something out of love is better than out of obligation? I recently had to look at forgiveness in these terms. Sometimes as Christians, we go and do what we are supposed to, kicking and screaming! We smile because we have to, we make a joyful noise because we have to, we say forgive me because we have to, we say I forgive you because we have to.

When we forgive someone out of obligation, have we truly forgiven? I believe that forgiveness out of obligation is not true forgiveness. In Philemon we can see a picture of forgiveness. We dont know all the details of what this man had done to Philemon. We do know that Paul sends him back to Philemon and asks Philemon to forgive him; not out of obligation but out of love. In verse 9, it says "I appeal to you on the basis of love" and in verse 14(b) it says "so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will". If we forgive because we are obligated we havent given true forgiveness. If we are forgiven out of obligation, we havent been given true forgiveness.

In the final verses of Philemon, Paul writes and tells them to prepare him a guest room. This indicates he is coming for a visit. Jesus IS COMING! What will He find us doing? Loving because we have been loved or going through the motions because were obligated?

God forgave us because of LOVE. Shouldn't we forgive each other out of LOVE, just like what we were shown?

Wonderful Father thank You for loving me. Help me to love others the way you love them and see them the way You do. Give me courage to ask for forgiveness, give me grace to offer forgiveness, and comfort when rejected. There is no one who gives like You. I love you because You loved me first. There is nothing good in me. Everything good comes from You Father. I am because You are.