Daily devotional, February 21, 2024 The Shawl

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." 
1 Peter 4:8

Gemma wears a shawl every single day to work. No matter what her outfit is, she makes sure she has it. I asked her why she has one all the time, and she said that covering up makes her feel comfortable, makes her feel warm. One day, an officemate had a big stain on her white blouse, and Gemma so lovingly gave one of her shawls to her so she could cover up the unsightly stain.

Gemma’s loving kindness, through her shawl, reminds us of one of the characteristics of godly love: “love covers a multitude of sins.” In his letter to the early Christians, St. Peter the Apostle encouraged the church to “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

When there is great love for one another, one can overlook the other’s offenses. When we say we love a person, we are ready to accept the person as he or she is, and just forget about his weaknesses, failures, and even offences against us.

Now it is not easy to love someone in spite of his faults. We can try to endure though if he or she is family like a child, a parent, a spouse, but if it is someone else outside our close-knit sphere, could covering a multitude of sins still be possible?

Yes, we can do this to people close to us, those who may just be our acquaintances, and even people who have wronged us. How? For instance, when we hear something about the person, say he committed something — a mistake, a breach of etiquette, or any moral failure, we as a loving member of the community should not gossip about it. Yes, not even pass on information about the matter, even to our closest friends, and even in the guise of trying to teach someone to not commit the same thing.

When we are concerned with others, we do not tarnish their reputation further. Love should keep us from destroying further, an already damaged honor — self inflicted or otherwise.

"Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends." 
Proverbs 17:9

Another possible application is when we put behind the offences we have already forgiven. Sometimes, out of anger we get to dig out past offenses of another person against us, and use it to emphasize that they haven’t changed. Well, if we would let love cover a multitude of sins, then these past issues should have been truly forgotten already. We are to give the other a clean slate.

And while this is a tall order, especially for someone badly hurt, then we must take a cue from our God, who mercifully puts the past behind:

"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." I
saiah 43:25

Theologian Wayne Grudem says when we fail to love others enough to cover their sins, only one creature stands to benefit. “Where love abounds in a fellowship of Christians, many small offences, and even some large ones, are readily overlooked and forgotten. But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action is liable to misunderstanding, and conflicts abound – to Satan’s perverse delight,” he says.

And so, just like what St. Paul the Apostle defined it, “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (Corinthians 13:7)” When we have that godly love in our hearts for others, we can choose to be more patient, look at what is positive in the person, and give him or her the benefit of the doubt. We cannot just be suspicious all the time, and we cannot just keep on reviewing our record of his or her wrongs.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

Now as moms, this does not mean we will condone our children’s wrong doings. Certainly not! It only means that those we have forgiven and come to terms with, we should be able to let go and forget. After all, we have all been commanded to forgive others so that we could also be forgiven.

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." 
Matthew 6:14-15

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on 1 Peter 4:7-11 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question:  Do you have the kind of love that can cover other people’s past sins?

Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, help me forget the offenses other people committed against me. Help me not propagate things that could further damage other people’s reputation. Help me become a better follower, by being more loving, kind, and gentle to those around me. Amen.