“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
Sin comes with a price tag. We don’t naturally think of it that way. When we’re tempted – or jumping in – sin feels like something that is freeing and free. We’re breaking out of the rules holding us back from experiencing good things. Sin feels like escape.
But that’s the lie of sin, right? Sin digs a hole in our relationships with each other and in our closeness to God. To support itself, sin steals from our emotional stability, from our clear thinking, even from our physical strength.
We can be forgiven for our sin by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus. But God also offers us away to experience healing from the consequences of some of our sin in the here and now. It’s called love.
Sin is a selfish act. Love, by definition, is selflessness. It is the choice to give up what I want for your good. It is the choice to die to me to help you live more abundantly. It’s what Jesus came to give us and – by God’s remarkable gift – it’s what we can give away to each other.
Love each other deeply and cover over some of the holes in life that sin has left behind.
Think: Who loves you most deeply with a selfless Christlike love? Who do you love most deeply like that?
Pray: Ask God to help you to love others deeply with a Christlike love as a way of covering over a multitude of sins.
Do: Notice how the Christians in your life express the love of Christ to each other this week.