GOD COVERS OUR FAULTS

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)

We can never come to a communion service and not consider or contemplate the love of God. The love of God is so amazing. It is both intimate and personal. God came up close to us in the Christ, and that means we cannot hide our imperfections and faults from Him. He knows about them anyway. Someone has said that a true friend is someone who knows all about you, yet still loves you. The scriptures reminds us that Jesus is “The friend of sinners!” (Luke 7:34), and that He is a “Friend who sticks closer than a brother!” (Proverbs 18:24). Again, He is a “Friend that loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17) This model that comes from the Father through Jesus Christ means that we in turn need to learn to love people in a personal way. We need to learn to look past the faults and weaknesses of one another and see the handiwork of God in each other. We all recognize that there are weaknesses, faults, and imperfections in each other, but that God is active in our lives too working the wonder of His love with amazing results.

When we learn, know, and believe that God is determined to love us no matter what, we can stop being overly concerned about our faults and begin to conform to Christ instead of our fears (Romans 12:2). When we don’t believe that God loves us no matter what, we try to put on masks that make us look perfect in order to hide our faults. When we try to hide behind masks, we undermine God’s plan that we live, work, and fellowship together in a loving community that glorifies Him. The reality is, God’s love is perfect, and He wants to cover our faults with Jesus Christ who gave His life for that purpose.

The great thing to realize is that God goes beyond just diagnosing our problems or judging our faults (Psalm 103:10). Instead, he steps forward to address the areas of our lives that are broken. Consider for a moment these marvelous scriptures that demonstrate the glorious expression of His unconditional, everlasting love. When He comes to us with His love, this is what happens:

● Into our emptiness, He brings fullness and completion. (Colossians 2:9-10)

● Into our deficit, He brings supply. (Philippians 4:19)

● Into our death, He brings life. (Ephesians 2:1,5)

● Into our separation, He brings reconciliation. (Romans 5:10-11)

● Into our imperfect love, He brings perfect love. (1 John 4:10)

The more we’re conscious of God’s love the less self-conscious we become about ourselves. We spend less time and energy looking to appear perfect and have a life where everything is exactly the way we want it to be. Instead, we invest more time and energy pouring ourselves into other people, who, along with us, make an imperfect community that is infused with the perfect love of God. In contemplating the amazing love of God, Charles Wesley, in one of his famous hymns, wrote:

And can it be that I should gain, an interest in the Savior’s blood

Died He for me who was His pain, for me who Him to death pursued

Amazing love how can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me

Mmmmm…..Think about it!!!