1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love
covers over a multitude of sins.
In this passage from I Peter, Peter exhorts the believers to
love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins. Eugene
Patterson’s The Message puts it this way: Most of all, love each other as if
your life depended on it.
Love makes up for practically anything. It goes on to say,
Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless – cheerfully. Be
generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get
in on it; if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty
help. That way, God’s presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and
He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything – encores to the end
of time. (I Peter 4: 7-11) What an incredible description of love in action!
Amidst the suffering of the persecuted Church, Peter is challenging them to
love and reach out with God’s grace to all! This passage of Scripture has
challenged me over the years because when I am suffering, it is difficult for
me not to be self-centered! Yet our God, in the person of Jesus Christ, loved
us so much as He walked to the cross; He loved us so much as He suffered on the
cross;
He loved us so much as He forgave us on the cross. What a
love divine! As His disciples, we are called to love by forgiving and by
serving. In so doing,
God will be glorified.
Thought for today:
Meditate on these words: Most of all, love each other as if
your life depended on it. Do you love as if your life depended on it? Are you
aware that your love covers a multitude of sins?
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