Reaching into the archives today for this post. Love covers has always meant so much to me.
I learned of a conversation recently in which a parent engaged a teenager about an issue in the teen’s life. They held differing opinions. The child who’d struggled with faith issues said to the parent, “I want to be very angry with you, and push you away, but I can’t. You’ve been good parents, and I know you love me so much.”
When I heard this, a Bible verse, which appears twice in different forms, came to mind.
First from Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs,” and from I Peter 4:8,”Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
To make sure I understood this, I looked up the word cover from the Proverbs text in the Hebrew. It means clothe, conceal, hide, overwhelm. For the I Peter text, I sought out the Greek word, which also means cover or hide.
Eugene Peterson translates the Proverbs verse this way, “Hatred starts fights, but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.”
Peterson renders the I Peter passage, “Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything.”
It bears repeating, “Love makes up for practically anything.”
In matters of the heart, when the rift runs deep, love on. Despite the heartache, despite the differences and the seemingly impossible to resolve dispute, keep loving. Love “…always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” I Corinthians 13:7-8).
Of course, our love can fail, but God’s love never does.
One dark Friday, on a Judean hillside, God overwhelmed our sins through the death of his Son. On that day love didn’t just make up “…for practically anything,” it made up for everything.
Once and for all, love covered.
If you’re in the middle of dissension today, love on, for through you God wants to overwhelm, cover, and hide whatever it is that’s causing the trouble.
Let's repeat often, “Love covers.”
(I feel I need to add a caveat here, loving doesn't mean staying in abusive situations).
