Love Makes Allowances

February 9, 2023

God is love. And all love comes from God. And we love because God loves us.  

1 John 4:7-8 “Love comes from God… for God is love.”   

God loves you so much that he sent Jesus on a mission of love with a message of love. The Bible doesn’t say God has love; it says God is love. Love is his nature; God is love. 

1 John 4:19 “We love each other because God loved us first.”  

God is always first in everything. He takes the initiative. The only reason we can love God or love anybody else is because God first loved us. He howed that love by sending Jesus Christ to earth to die for you. He showed that love by creating you. He showed that love by everything you have in life; it’s a gift of God’s love. We love because God first loved us.  

Sometimes I’ll talk to people who grew up in church who are kind of down on themselves. They always feel like they’re not measuring up. They feel like they’re not pleasing God and God is always angry with them.  They always carry a load of guilt around the whole time. I’ve heard many people say this: “My problem is I just don’t love God enough.”  

I say, “No, that’s not it. Your problem is not that you don’t love God enough. Your problem is you don’t realize how much he loves you. If you realized how much God loves you – extravagant, irresistible, unconditional love – you would have to love him back. You could not, not love God if you understood how much he loves you. You would automatically be attracted to him.  The reason you don’t love God, you don’t care about God, you don’t serve God, is you don’t understand or feel how much he loves you.”  

So, God is love, and we love because God loved us first. Here's one more verse about love that I think is important to remember.

1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 

Love covers a multitude of sins. Notice that the verse doesn't say love exposes a multitude of sins. 

When you find out someone is struggling through sin, this verse can be a reminder that you can go to them in love and you can go to them confidentially.

This means, we don’t always have to expose their sins to everyone else (yes, there are situations in which sins like abuse must be brought to light).

But, in most cases, we can be confidential when it comes to loving people through their sin struggles. We can encourage them. In conversations, if you hear that person’s name come up, you can “cover” for them by putting an end to gossip. 

A love that covers a multitude of sins means you are willing to overlook their past and their flaws in order to keep loving them and keep helping them as they turn to Jesus (who is the ultimate source of help).

I love this verse.

Colossians 3:13 "Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."

Love covers. Love forgives. Love makes allowances.