Proverbs 10:12 — “Love covers all sins.”

Proverbs 10:12 -- “Love covers all sins.”

1 John 4:16 -- “God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and He in him.”

Exodus 34:5-7 -- “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and sin …”

Numbers 14:18 -- “The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression …”

Psalm 86:5 & 15 -- “For you, Lord, are good, ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you. .. You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in mercy and truth.” * Psalm 100:5 -- “The Lord is good! His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations.” * Psalm 136:1 -- “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His mercy endures forever.” * Psalm 145:8-9 -- “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.”

Jeremiah 29:11 -- “I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the Lord, “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” * Jeremiah 33:11 -- “Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever.”

Ezekiel 18:19-32 -- “I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord. “Therefore turn and live!” [Note that God always gives us a choice!] * Ezekiel 33:11 -- “As I live,” says the Lord, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” [God is pleading with us to reject sin and return to His heart of Love.]

Zechariah 1:3 -- “Return to me and I will return to you!”

Matthew 6:12 -- “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” [Note here the reciprocity! We are God’s children and should strive to be like Him in forgiveness. Jesus expands greatly upon this theme in answering Peter’s question with a parable in Matthew 18:21-35]

Romans 13:8-10 – Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments .. are summed up in this one command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor, Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

God issues Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, and only two are expressed positively: “Keep the Sabbath Day holy” and “Honor your father and your mother.” * Jesus gives four commandments and all are expressed positively: Love God (Deuteronomy 6:5 & Matthew 22:37), Love your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18 & Matthew 22:39), Love you enemy (Matthew 5:43-48), and “Love one another as I have loved you,” adding “by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) * All this is to show that God’s love is greater than our sin, God’s mercy is greater than our sin, and God’s forgiveness is greater than our sin. This profound understanding is the key point of Jesus’s Parable of the Lost Son, the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15.