Loving The Sinner

Loving the Sinner

Continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

I don’t know about you, but I imagine it will take a lot of love to cover not only my past sins, but also the present sinful situations I have created. And the future? Well, that’s a story all its own. I can’t even begin to fathom that, since my other sins have already put me well behind making up and catching up. And before you get too smug or start to feel sorry for me, remember that all of us are miserably behind in making up for our sins.

But here’s the great thing: when others love us despite our sin and we can graciously extend love to those who have wronged us, we receive support and friendship, forgiveness and encouragement. We know that our struggles with sin will continue on earth, only ending in eternity with God. Jesus is the only person who lived a sinless life, but He also knows what we face and has compassion: “He faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Even if we’ve accepted Him as Savior, even if we’re doing everything we can to keep from sinning, we simply can’t avoid sin. But thankfully, God’s loving forgiveness is ours for the asking. And love given from those we have wronged and extended to others who have wronged us will go a long way toward binding up wounds and helping us overcome any crisis we face.

It’s the very nature of love to do that. Solomon writes that “love makes up for all offenses” (Proverbs 10:12). And Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:5, says that love “keeps no record of being wronged.” Then there was the woman whose tears washed Jesus’ feet in Luke 7. Jesus said, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love” (verse 47). We are assured that Jesus’ sacrificial love and forgiveness covers our sins. That assurance provides us with a fresh starting point when we’ve fallen short of God’s standards. This is something to remind each other of.

Uncommon Key > Sin is part of our human nature. So is love. Hate the sin, but love the sinner. Love given or received is the best agent for change and forgiveness.