In 1 Pet. 4:8, it says, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” And in James 5:20 it says, “Let him know, that he who converts a sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.”
Love covers a multitude of sins. Fervent Christian love overlooks many sins. But this fervent Christian love is not indifferent to the souls of those around it. Love cares for the souls of those around it, but it is not a perfectionist or a legalist. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love lets many things go without another thought. Love laughs at small infractions, petty offenses, not because it doesn’t care, but precisely because it cares far more for the trajectory of the soul.
The foundational model for this is God Himself. God loves like this. God loves fervently and covers a multitude of sins. God converts sinners from the error of their ways, so He can cover multitudes of sins. In 1 Jn. 1:9 it says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We confess the sins we know about, and God cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
The Devil is an accountant, an accusing legalist, and the Cosmic Bureaucratic Bookkeeper. The Devil keeps track of infractions and errors to the nth-decimal in order to accuse and manipulate us. But God rounds up to the nearest billion. God is easy to please, even if He is hard to satisfy. And this is because God loves grace. This is not a wishy-washy grace. This is a cruciform grace. This grace was purchased by the precious blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ. God looks at us through that lens, through the cross, through the cross of His love.
That is what is on offer here: fervent love. This is what you’re sharing with one another: fervent love. Fervent love drives for the goal of fellowship with God and one another, and it is eager to overlook many offenses.
So Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ.
Photo by Ali Abdul Rahman on Unsplash
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