Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.-Proverbs 17:9
All married couples have struggled with this. Keeping records of sin and bringing them back to fight for them. Like a well-stocked arsenal, we pile up wrongdoing like ammunition and sin like semi-automatic weapons until we have a stored up enough to have an ultimate weapon of mass destruction.
When the time comes, we joyfully pull out these hateful weapons and fire away at the one we love.
Wife: “I really wish you would pick up after yourself a little bit. It would really make my life easier.” (a reasonable request)
Husband: “Well, if you wouldn’t harp on me so much maybe I would. Remember last week when you bit my head off when you thought I didn’t pick up the dry-cleaning? You are just so unreasonable!” (the shot heard round the world!)
And from this terrible start begins a war that will not end until someone is deeply wounded.
Wisdom says that whoever covers and offense seeks love. Wisdom goes farther than just telling us though. Wisdom shows us just how far love goes in covering offenses. The Wisdom and Power of God came to this world in the flesh, seeking love. Jesus taught love, but more importantly He lived love for us. In so doing, He not only covered our offenses, but “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
Rather than simply keeping us close to Himself as friends, He has made us full children of the Heavenly Father.
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
-1 Peter 4:8
-Because-
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
- John 13:35
When the time comes, we joyfully pull out these hateful weapons and fire away at the one we love.
Wife: “I really wish you would pick up after yourself a little bit. It would really make my life easier.” (a reasonable request)
Husband: “Well, if you wouldn’t harp on me so much maybe I would. Remember last week when you bit my head off when you thought I didn’t pick up the dry-cleaning? You are just so unreasonable!” (the shot heard round the world!)
And from this terrible start begins a war that will not end until someone is deeply wounded.
Wisdom says that whoever covers and offense seeks love. Wisdom goes farther than just telling us though. Wisdom shows us just how far love goes in covering offenses. The Wisdom and Power of God came to this world in the flesh, seeking love. Jesus taught love, but more importantly He lived love for us. In so doing, He not only covered our offenses, but “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
Rather than simply keeping us close to Himself as friends, He has made us full children of the Heavenly Father.
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
-1 Peter 4:8
-Because-
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
- John 13:35
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O God, You who are pure Love itself, You who humbled Yourself by putting on our flesh and blood to seek us out in love, fill us to overflowing with Your holy love, for in that most perfect love is true Wisdom. Fill us with Your love that we may work together in Your kingdom, to seek and do Your will, to share that love with a world that is full of hate and evil. May that beautiful and ever-present forgiveness, freely given through the sacrifice of Christ, cover up all of our offenses and motivate us to serve You in Your kingdom.
Amen.
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