“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8
Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit, has given every Christian at least one spiritual gift, which enables him or her to perform an important spiritual function in the Body of Christ with joy and effectiveness. So, how can we use our spiritual gifts to make the biggest positive impact in the lives of others? The apostle Peter answers by revealing our secret weapon.
1 Peter 4, Peter tells us, “The end of all things is near” (v. 7). Or, as the New Living Translation puts it, “The end of the world is coming soon.” Christians in the early church believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime. And over the past 2,000 years, Christians in every generation have thought the same thing. Jesus is okay with that – because He wants us to live expectantly. In every generation, Jesus wants Christians to realize that His return is closer than ever before. He truly IS coming soon, so there’s no time to lose. We need to serve the Lord.
Peter goes on to say, “Therefore, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (v. 7). Because the window of opportunity to reach this world for Jesus Christ is shrinking, you and I need to be at the top of our game. We can’t indulge in drugs, alcohol or trashy entertainment, because those things cloud our thinking and sabotage our self-control. And if you and I are not clear-minded and self-controlled, we won’t be able to pray as Christ needs us to pray. And if we don’t pray as Christ needs us to pray, His life-changing work won’t get done.
Then, in verse 8, Peter mentions the priority of love: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” This isn’t an unrelated topic. If you look at all four chapters in the New Testament that deal with spiritual gifts (Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12, Eph. 4, and 1 Peter 4), you’ll see that love is right there—every time. In Ephesians 3, right before the chapter teaching us about spiritual gifts, Paul prays that we will grasp how long and wide and high and deep is the love of Christ (v. 18). In Romans 12, Paul teaches about love right after highlighting seven of the spiritual gifts. And in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul spends a whole chapter on love in the middle of his teaching about spiritual gifts.
In the New Testament, we see agape love emphasized before, after and during the teachings on spiritual gifts. You see, it’s not enough to just HAVE a spiritual gift—you must USE your spiritual gift. And it’s not enough to just use your spiritual gift. You must use it … in love. So, why should you use your spiritual gifts to serve others? Because you love God deeply, and you love others deeply. Sometimes Christians are hard to love. But love us deeply anyway.
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