Verse of the Day 11-9-22

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

How Does Love cover Sins?

In order to truly answer that question we must first understand the word “love.” The Greek word Peter used in this verse for love is “agapao,” which speaks of an intelligent, thoughtful and purposeful love involving the entire personality, but is primarily a decision of the mind and the will. What that simply means is that “agape-love” has the warm, natural and at times spontaneous sense of feeling that we so often mistakenly associate with, but the key to “agape-love” is that those warm, natural and at times spontaneous feelings are based on how you feel but are instead based on a conscience and rational decision you have made to “love” someone despite of your feelings of “like” or “dislike” towards them.

Now that we know what Peter meant by “love,” we can answer the question: How does love cover sins? Peter could very well have been referencing the way God’s love deals with our sins. However, the context of this verse is speaking of the way love affects our relationships. How do we know that? Because Peter starts verse 8 off with the phrase, “Above all, love each other deeply,” which is speaking directly to how we relate to each other. It is only after Peter has told us to “love each other deeply” that he goes on to tell us why, “because love covers over a multitude of sins.” How then does love cover sins? Love covers sins in two big ways:

1. When we truly love someone, we are much more willing to overlook that person’s faults.
2. When we are sinned against, love overrides our reflex for revenge.

Today’s Bible Readings:

Ezekiel 20, Hebrews 9:11-28, Psalm 107:1-43 and Proverbs 27:11