Love Like You've Never Been Hurt with Jentezen Franklin

Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt

Scripture References

Primary text

• 1 Corinthians 13

Other references

• 1 Corinthians 14
• Hebrews 11
• Romans 5
• Matthew 17

Overview

Hurt is inevitable, but love is undefeatable. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 13 and vivid stories from Scripture, history, and his own family, Pastor Jentezen Franklin calls believers to “love like you’ve never been hurt.” Real forgiveness is a deliberate, repeated choice that opens the door for God to heal families, restore relationships, and rewrite futures. Love never fails—when we keep tapping, reconciliation comes.

Main Points

Hurt will come—offense is unavoidable

• Jesus said in Matthew 17 that offense “must” come; every life includes betrayal, rejection, or misunderstanding.
• Even those we love most—family, close friends, fellow Christians—can wound us deepest.
• Mark Twain’s comparison: a rescued dog never bites back, but people often bite the very hands that feed them.

Love like you’ve never been hurt

• The phrase comes from legendary pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige, who endured vicious racial slurs yet kept playing with joy: “You’ve got to love like you’ve never been hurt.”

• Illustration: Paige once made his outfield sit down, then struck out the next four batters—choosing confidence over retaliation.

• Scripture devotes an entire chapter to faith (Hebrews 11) and another to love (1 Corinthians 13); love is the greatest and “never fails.”
• Biblical models:
  • Joseph forgave brothers, Potiphar’s wife, and cup-bearer, choosing rescue over revenge.
  • Moses returned to the people who rejected him after 40 desert years.
  • David endured wounds from father, brothers, wife, son, and father-in-law yet remained after God’s heart.
  • Jesus forgave from the cross before anyone asked.

Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling

• Peter wanted a formula—Jesus answered “seventy-times-seven”: forgiveness isn’t keeping score but losing count.
• Ketchup bottle analogy: real forgiveness is like glass Heinz—first you open up, then keep tapping the “57.” It seldom gushes out; persistence releases what’s under pressure.
• Unforgiveness becomes the second “unforgivable” sin: Jesus warned that if we withhold forgiveness, the Father withholds it from us.

Sometimes the worst done to you brings out God’s best in you

• Story: Franklin’s daughter drifted into substance abuse, ran away, and married against the family’s wishes. Rage and shame tempted him to cut ties, but he and his wife kept “tapping”—meals, phone calls, invitations. Today the couple serves on a church staff and has given them a grandchild.

• Love may start awkwardly, but steady taps—calls, cards, shared meals—let grace flow.
• Parents: you may disapprove of a child’s choices yet must keep the relational door open. “You can’t put me out of your life; I will love you.”

Practical taps that release reconciliation

• Initiate contact first; don’t wait for an apology.
• Speak healing words—your tongue is nitroglycerin: it can blow up a house or heal a heart.
• Keep asking, forgiving, inviting—progress may be slow, but love never fails.

Key Truths

• Forgiveness is an intentional decision repeated without limit.
• Love that refuses to keep score becomes a conduit for God’s restorative power.
• Unforgiveness imprisons the one who withholds it more than the one who caused the hurt.
• God often uses our deepest wounds to produce our greatest ministry if we cooperate with His love.
• Parental or marital conflicts are mission fields for the believer’s ministry of reconciliation.

Response

• Open your heart to reconciliation, even if the other person hasn’t asked.
• Take the first step this week: call, text, write, or visit the one from whom you’re estranged.
• Replace rehearsing the hurt with praying blessing over the offender.
• Speak healing, not explosive, words—choose sentences that build bridges.
• Persevere; keep “tapping” until love begins to flow.

Closing

Love that counts no wrongs never fails. God reconciled us when we were estranged; now He entrusts us with that same ministry toward family, friends, and even enemies. Open up, keep tapping, and let the relentless love of Jesus mend what hurt has broken.

“Love never fails.”

Prayer

“Father, in the name of Jesus I speak peace over every relationship, every marriage, every family. Let there be a revival of reconciliation—let husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters reach out, forgive, and love like they’ve never been hurt. We receive Your healing love now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Resources

• Book: Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt by Jentezen Franklin