There is a Scripture that most of us find beyond our reach without God’s help. At least I do. Peter asks something of us that doesn’t come naturally to any of us.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
“Deeply” translates a Greek word that means, literally, to stretch out. It can be defined as stretched out or exerted to the limit of its strength. Peter wants us to know that the love he is describing is stretched to the limit. Xenophon used the same word to describe a horse made to go at a full gallop.
There might be some people who find it easy to love everyone, but if we were honest most of us would admit that we meet individuals who require us to “stretch.” Peter is telling us that the love God wants to exhibit through us stretches us until we can reach everyone. How can we love like that? The answer is that this describes the love God had for us. His love stretched past our failures and our weaknesses to cover all our sins. That’s what grace does. We can love that way because that’s the love we have received from God.
During a break in a conference on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, Gwen and I took a walk. As we walked through a field we saw a girl who was walking a big dog. Suddenly the dog broke away from her and began running toward us with a decided limp. We were alarmed and a little frightened. It wasn’t an “ankle biter,” it was a tear-your-arm-off sized dog.
When the brown visitor finally reached us it panted and wagged its tail. It seemed happy to see us. We were greatly relieved. The girl who had been walking the dog had been shouting at it to stop while she was running toward us. That had added to our anxiety. She had seemed worried for our safety.
She ran up, out of breath, and said, “I didn’t know what he was going to do. He was dropped on our doorstep and had either been beaten badly or hit by a car. His rear leg is atrophied. A vet said that the injury had been untreated for about three months. When we first found him he was suspicious and hostile. The SPCA representative would not even take him because he growled so viciously. We began feeding him and caring for him until he began to trust us. I just didn’t know how he would react to you.”
The love that big dog had received from the girl had changed him. Despite the abuse and neglect he had suffered he had become friendly and trusting. That’s how God, by His grace, changes us. He has loved us so much that our love can reach everyone. His love has enabled us to stretch out our love. His grace has enabled us to be gracious.
