1 Peter 4:8 (NASB)

Bible Commentary

1 Peter 4:8 is a Bible verse from the New Testament where Peter warns us to stay connected to one another underneath the covering of love. If you study this verse, you can see that Peter is warning us of the dangers of separating ourselves from our brothers and sisters by judgments, jealousies, or any other division.

When we cut the cord of love that binds us all together in the family of God, we open ourselves up to the temptations of our flesh and the attacks of the devil. It is so easy to fall prey to that downward pull of negativity and nastiness that surrounds us in this fallen world, but Jesus Christ made the way back to the protective covering of love through the cross.

We are safe in Him, His love and His righteousness in the power of the Holy Ghost Who lives in us. The cross connected us back to the Father like a bridge covering a great gap.

When we became a Christian, we were accepted into His family and His House through the love of the cross and everything it stands for. We are His, and He is ours.

Our fellow Christians are our brothers and sisters in our Father’s House. He loves each one of us very deeply. He commanded us to love Him with all our hearts, minds and souls and to love one another as ourselves—the greatest of all the commandments of God. (Matthew 22:36-40)

When we obey the commandments of God, we are safe from the world and from the enemy—the devil who seeks to steal, kill and destroy us. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

In the obedience of Peter’s instruction, we are safe in a circle of love. Nothing gets in and nothing gets taken out.

Surrender Your Heart

Just as Christ’s love covers our sins, we are to cover our brothers and sisters in love. The problem is, we let our flesh get in the way and we react out of anger and frustration instead using the self-control of Christ and responding in love.

Before we can feel love for our fellow Christians, we must first make the decision to accept them for who they are and what they are, which might be:

·         different from us

·         annoying

·         negative and complaining

·         needy and irresponsible

·         clingy

·         attention seekers

We can more easily love someone like this in our own family because we know the source of their pain and understand why they act the way they do. We have accepted them because we understand them. We love them unconditionally because they’re family.

But it’s extremely difficult to feel love for someone in these categories that we don’t know very well. We tend to avoid them because we can’t handle the weight of their needs, and it is difficult to imitate sincere concern. We might feel sympathy, but we are far from genuine love.

Genuinely Feel Love

Jesus didn’t call us to serve one another out of obligation and guilt. He called us to love one another. Before we can feel and serve out of true love, we must first acknowledge where there is a dryness in our hearts.

It is only when we walk through the door of truth that we discover the treasure waiting on the other side. Let’s offer up the truth in our hearts—aversion toward our brothers and sisters—and ask Him to love them through us.

We must get our flesh out of the way, and offer it up to Him. It was already nailed to the cross in the body of Jesus Christ. We only need to confess, and ask Him to replace our heart with His Own.

Psalm 119:32 says, “I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.”

Isn’t that beautiful? He enlarges our heart to love when we just can’t. We don’t have to mold ourselves into something we are not. We need only submit to the Master Potter.

He has love overflowing, enough for you and for me.

1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

When we submit to Him, He comes up and over us like the wings of an Angel. His love is our covering and our empowerment to go forward in His perfect will.

In Him, we can love fervently (without ceasing). Study the Bible verse of 1 Peter 4:8 and surrender your heart to His, so you can love like He loves.

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