Love’s Covering
Scripture Reading — Proverbs 10:12-20
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
Having lived in many different homes during our married life, we’ve found it essential to know how to paint and wallpaper. Both can serve well to make a house into a home, providing personal touches. Moving into a house with “egg-plant purple” paint in the kitchen, we realized quickly that we’d want another color to cover its loudness—hopefully in one coat.
Psalm 32 provides an excellent description about covering sins. The psalmist recognizes that he cannot cover his sins, and his uncovering or acknowledging them to God leads to God’s covering of forgiveness. Then the psalmist can sing and celebrate joyfully.
The apostle Peter, having learned about God’s forgiveness and love, wrote emphatically, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
Hatred and love are contrasted in today’s proverb. As the opposite of love, hatred stirs up the dissension of broken and painful relationships. We don’t need hatred! On the other hand, love covers, heals, and restores. With God’s love as our source, we live as people who know that sins are forgiven and slights can be forgotten.
Love led Jesus to a cruel cross, resulting in our sins’ being covered by Christ’s blood. Love provides the forgiveness we need—daily and desperately! Have you claimed its covering?
Lord, thank you for the forgiveness of all our sins, paid for by Christ on the cross. Help us to confess to you. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — George Vink
Pastor George Vink has served as a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church for more than 30 years in British Columbia, Montana, Michigan, and California. He and his wife, Shirley, have four married sons and nine grandchildren.
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