PROVERBS 10:12 – Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
THEME OF THE DAY. COVERED WITH THE BLANKET OF HIS LOVE. We hurt people. People hurt us. We say words to people we regret. People say words to us they regret. We sin against other Christians. Other Christians sin against us. We disappoint family members. Family members disappoint us. These and many more failings in our relationships with people are simply facts of living in a sinful world and still living with the remnants of sin within us. So, what do we do when the inevitable hurts and pains happen in our relationships, even the closest of ones, occur? We have two choices.
First, we can harbor bitterness, allow the fracture in the relationship to widen, and bring dishonor to the Lord by tolerating a cold and unforgiving heart to the people bringing pain into our lives. But we need to know the consequences of this position. We will be the ultimate losers. Our joy in the Lord will be gone. The abundant life the Lord promises us; a life of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will be foreign. So, when people hurt us, think long and hard about refusing to forgive and restore. The consequences for us will be severe.
The other choice we have is in today’s scripture; choose to cover any and all offenses with love. Is that hard? Yes. Are their raw emotions of hurt making this seem impossible? Of course, but here are a couple of ways that enable us to cover all sins against us with the blanket of love – God’s love.
When tempted to not forgive, stop and remember how God treats our many sins against Him. He blankets them with His love which means He forgives and never brings the offense back up in His mind and nor are we to. If our holy God who has been greatly offended by our many sins is willing to cover them all with His forgiving love, we cannot hold anything done to us in an unforgiving heart. To do so reveals we have not grasped how much we have been covered by God’s love.
Another thing helping us blanket offenses against us with love is to remember God commands us to forgive and, in the command, comes the strength to forgive. Here is one of the great wonders of the Christian life. God gives us three things to live by – warnings to heed, promises to believe, and commands to obey. All require power outside of us We need power to heed, believe, and obey. And the glorious truth is God gives us the strength for everything in the Christian life; even the power to forgive those who have hurt us deeply.
So, in the messiness of life, we are going to encounter hurt, pain, sin, sorrow, and difficulties in our relationships. Before they “chill our hearts” with bitterness and lack of forgiveness, blanket them with the love of God – a love covering all offenses.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your steadfast love covering all my sins for all time.”
QUOTE: “If God covers all our sins with His love so must we with those who sin against us.”