“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter4:7,8).
There is a centrality given here to love in the Christian community.
It is a very practical love. Love has the capacity, not to ignore sin, but to cover it over. What might that mean?
Love covers over shortcomings, mess ups, failures or fractures. It is easy to be upset by little things, a mess that has been left behind, a comment spoken in passing or in jest, a failure to remember an appointment, or whatever it may be. Furthermore, we may have habits or mannerisms that can annoy others, that can become a barrier to close relationship.
We are to look beyond such things, to ‘cover them over’. It is not to say that there aren’t shortcomings in our lives that need to be addressed, such as patterns of behaving that do not glorify God, but that those regular ways we may fall short can be covered over.
Beyond that, to offer hospitality – without grumbling (was grumbling one of the multitude of sins?). Hospitality takes us beyond tolerating others or ignoring others. It means coming around the same table, entering conversation, sharing life together.
Building a community of Jesus’ love is tough work. It means not letting those things become a barrier to relationship, but to build through them, knowing that we all have further to grow, individually and together. As Paul says, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). A community of grace builds bridges not barriers.
Prayer: “Lord, help us to live like this! Amen”