Let Love Cover It by Chuck Smith Despite their spiritual youth and the intense persecution they suffered almost immediately after their conversion, Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica: “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10). Remember, these were young believers. Paul couldn’t spend much time there—at the most a few months, at the least a few weeks. Severe perse¬cution arose very quickly and Paul had to leave. And yet these disciples sincerely sought God and their faith grew exceedingly. We know this because Paul says their love toward each other “abounded.” Just the kind of fellowship you would like to be in! Yes—but would you care for the persecution? Even if you knew that it was the persecution that accounted for the church’s growth and love? Paul in essence had told them, “I am thrilled that you have such a great reputa¬tion as a loving church. But even so, I want to encourage you to work at this love more and more. Let it increase!” The mark of the true body of Christ is a great love, one believer for another. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). A genuine love among the body of Christ not only identifies the true disciples of Jesus to the world, it also becomes a personal sign to us individually that we have passed from death to life. Do you love the people of God? And if so, are you taking practical steps to make sure that your love increases more and more? One reason we need more and more love is that we have a lot of ugli¬ness to deal with—and fortunately, love covers a multitude of sins. Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.” The apostle Peter apparently had this Scripture in mind when he wrote to his fellow believers, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8). How does love do this covering? As a grandfather, I think I understand. I love my grandkids. In my eyes, they can do no wrong. So what if they pour out a box of sugar on the floor? Who cares? I’ll say, “Isn’t that fun? Look! They’ve made a cute little pile out of it. They show amazing artistic ability, the way they drew in it on the floor.” Love really does cover a multitude of sins. Understand that if you’re filled with hatred, everybody’s going to hate you. But if you’re a loving person, they’re far more willing to overlook your faults. People will scrutinize the faults of a hateful person; in fact, they cannot wait to find—and point out—as many as possible. It satisfies their flesh to identify something wrong. But if you’re a loving person, people tend to overlook all kinds of mistakes. You know what this means; don’t you? If you’re not a perfect person, then you had better be a loving person! And one good way to practice this love is to shut your mouth. As Proverbs 17:9 reminds us, “He who repeats a matter separates friends.” When you hear some unsavory report, it’s usually better to just let it go. Don’t say anything about it. Overlook it in love. Rather than running around and saying, “Do you know what he did? I couldn’t believe it! I stood there, just absolutely shocked!” and ruining a good friendship, just bury it. You can divide people by talking, or you can keep friends together through your loving silence. Let it go and let love cover a multitude of sins. - excerpted from Love The More Excellent Way by Chuck Smith
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 13:53:48 +0000
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