Love is this crazy enigma that is hard to pinpoint and define. It’s a feeling and a choice; a noun and a verb; it’s one of the most sought-after things in life and yet one of the hardest things for us to give to others.
When I think about love, I consider the ultimate love story – no, not Jim and Pam from The Office or Cinderella and her Prince Charming – but the story of love that is given to us in the pages of Scripture. The story of God’s love for His people. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
I also think about the greatest commandment given to us by Jesus, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31) Do you want to know what’s striking about this commandment? Jesus doesn’t say “love your neighbor IF…” or “love your neighbor WHEN…” He just says, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Period. No ifs, ands or buts, no conditions. He doesn’t say “love your neighbor if you agree with them or once you’ve learned everything about their life and understand their background.” Nope. Just love. It sounds so simple and easy, right? It should be, but the sad reality is that for most of us it’s not so simple and easy to love others without condition.
Do you know the power that love holds, though? Scripture tells us that love is so powerful it “covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8) I find this verse to be particularly intriguing, so I read a couple different commentaries and did a quick word study to learn what exactly Peter meant when he wrote that love covers a multitude of sins. The word “cover” in the original Greek literally means “to hide; to conceal.” The general consensus among commentators, in regard to possible interpretation of this verse, was two things: 1) The love of God covers sin. It is not by any of our own doing, but rather only by the love and grace of Jesus dying on the cross that our sins are forgiven and hidden in the eyes of God. 2) If we love others, we may be able to overlook the offenses of others. Let me be clear, I’m not saying others are not held accountable for their sin. But if we really love others, we are able to see them first for who they are as a child of God. Through that lens of love, we are able to accept faults and forgive easier, knowing that we too are children of God who have had a multitude of our sins covered.
I would even say that love covers a multitude of sins because love can change people’s thoughts and actions to turn from sinful in nature to loving and kind. I often think of this when there has been a senseless act of violence or a great tragedy like we saw all too close to home in Boulder this week. I wonder if the person who committed such an evil and horrendous act felt loved. Often the stories of their lives come out and we learn that they were bullied, outcast, isolated, or came from broken or violent homes. I wonder if one person’s genuine attempt to show love to him would have filled the void instead of evil. Love covers a multitude of past and present sin, but I believe it can also cover a multitude of future sin. Our effort to obey Jesus’ command and love our neighbor, without condition, could change the trajectory of a person’s thoughts, behaviors, actions, their life and the lives of others.
I know it’s not easy to love people we don’t agree with, understand, or just don’t “click” with. We can never love others the way God our Father perfectly, unconditionally, purely and fiercely loves us; but we sure could put in a lot more effort. (By the way, I’m preaching to myself here, too).
So, what do we do when we find it hard to love others? Well, Scripture tells us where the source of love comes from. “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) God is the very source of love and our ability to love. I picture an infinite IV bag full of God’s love. If I’m not connected to the IV and I don’t allow His love to flow through my veins, how could I ever give love to others? How do we stay connected to God’s love? Through reading His Word and being in prayer. Allow the pure, perfect, genuine, unconditional, fierce, powerful, all-consuming Love of God to flow through your veins, cover the multitude of your own sins and then you will be able to love others as Jesus commands.