Some personal encouragement for your soul today
As Christmas and the year come to a close, many of us find ourselves with low energy and with inner resources that do not seem to match the requirements of the season.
If you’re like me, you are moving in an out of that experience and it can keep you from being “all in” with what your family and your ministry seem to demand.
That’s why I want to give you a fresh take on a familiar verse taken from the pen of Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friend and followers. Found in his first letter to the underground Christ followers in Rome, it reads like this:
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. -1 Peter 4:8
The context is clear: It’s talking about a community that loves each other so well that the shortcomings of others are deliberately overlooked for the greater good.
A beautiful picture for sure, but I have a totally new application that I hope will encourage you like it is encouraging me.
John says that “love comes from God” (1 John 4:8), especially the kind that covers over sin. Now think of all the new people at your church that you hope to see experience this kind of love in your spiritual family. If this is the kind of love that God gives us to build this kind of community with, here”s the mind blower: this is the kind of love he has for you right now…..the kind that covers over your sins. And not just a few of them-a multitude of them.
Here’s what I’m getting at. Even though we think of Peter’s words here as only applying to horizontal relationships, I’m now seeing that this applies to our vertical relationship with God as well. This is the exact kind of love he has for you right now. The kind that overlooks what you did last night, feared this morning, and said an hour ago that you may now regret.
Are you a Type A personality? Paul was as type A as it gets. Had I known him, I would have respected him, but kept my distance as his intensity would have driven me nuts. His drivenness is why it is shocking that his prayer for the Ephesian church was not…
“I pray that you may do better”. Or…
“I pray that you may be more holy”. Or…
“I pray that you will know the right doctrine”. Or…
“I pray that you may reach more people”
It was this:
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. -Ephesians 3:17-19
In other words, mister Type A Paul/”Change the world guy’s” biggest prayer for you was not your success, or that you could get everything done. It’s that you would comprehend right now how limitless and vast God’s love is for you. AND, what Peter notes is that it is so big, it covers a multitude of your sin today. And tomorrow. And yesterday’s. You get it.
So I want to encourage you with the fact that the community you are building is not manufactured by the state of your love for others, but the reality of the love God has for you that covers all your shortcomings. That is what you have to build a culture with and to love guests with.
At the end of the day, it’s really all you have. And it’s the best thing ever.
It’s a love that looks past people’s sin, rough edges, pasts and present and sees how precious and valuable they are to the God who came down this Christmas to be one of us for a time. It’s the love he has for you that is covering the multitude of things that you wish were not true about you. They are probably true, but it doesn’t matter today because God is covering them with his great love and woe to anyone, including you, for uncovering them and fixating on them when such a great love can be received, enjoyed and shared this holiday season.
It reminds me that my sin is not keeping me from God at all. I am. And if God is for me, who can be against me?
May you know that love so thoroughly that it spills onto everyone you meet and care about. May it make your load lighter today and infuse your efforts with joy.
Do you feel inept or unable to handle what’s coming at your this month? Why? Name what it is and the reason you think you feel that way.
Since love covers a multitude of sins, what sins do you want to thank God for covering in terms of his approval and love for you right now?
If you are struggling with accepting or receiving this kind of love and approval today, write a paragraph about how you feel. Now visualize your son or daughter calling you to share those same feelings. How would you respond? As loving and supportive as you would be to your child, I guarantee that your response is just a shadow of how loving God’s response is to you. Dwell on that today.
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