Bible Verse and Devotion for October: 1 Peters 4:8-11
This month's devotional explores 1 Peter 4:8-11 (NIV) and the commandments we are given as Christians.
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
The Greek word translated as "deeply," "earnestly," or "fervently" is ektenē, used to describe the muscles of an athlete straining to win a race. Peter writes that Christians should do this "above all." A follower of Christ must make demonstrating the love of Jesus to others his or her first priority. This is always a requirement, but especially crucial during seasons of suffering. Loving each other in this way covers a multitude of sins. We need to be careful with this statement. This doesn't mean that our acts of love for each other can earn God's forgiveness. Nor does Peter mean to imply that we are paying our sins off through good works. That would contradict what Peter and other New Testament writers clearly teach: our sins are paid for by Christ's death on the cross, and forgiveness for sin comes only through trusting in Him. Grace was given to us upon Christ's death and grace is "God's riches at Christ's expense."
We receive God's love and his gifts because of what Christ gave to us. Peter writes that we are to share God's grace through the gifts we have been given in verse ten. Our role is to continue giving the grace we have already received with all those around us.
Christians are not yet sinless. We are not perfect, we are rather imperfect. We have set the course of our lives away from sin, but we still fail to obey sometimes. We make mistakes, even when we mean well. Love for each other includes forgiving each other, overlooking past hurts, and building each other up when we fall. It is difficult for sin and resentment to flourish in a community rich in Christ-like love.
