The End of the Age - Pt 2

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11 ESV). As I wrote in yesterday’s devotional, the second coming of Christ is practically imminent, even if it is not prophetically so. Our behavior should be the same whether Jesus is coming today or 2,000 years from today. We should be warning others in love of the danger of a life without Jesus.

When this devotional is posted Mary and I will have just returned from a little vacation to Boston and surrounding areas. The necessity of flying to Boston is obvious to us. However, it is never an activity that I relish. Inevitably there will be the long lines at the kiosk to get our boarding passes and luggage tags; long lines to pass through security; and, long lines to board the plane. There will be people everywhere. At this moment though, I am writing from the comfort of my home office, looking out the window at a beautiful fall day in Texas. There isn’t a person in sight, and I can see a long way from where we live. This reminds me that there are yet many people who don't believe that the end is near; or that there even is a Lord of history that is guiding it all to an appointed end. I felt more need to tell others about the grace God has given to us than in recent days. I pray the Lord will stir you as well to warn as many people as you can, earnestly, lovingly, and boldly. There is another word for us comes from this reading. Peter says that our love needs to be the kind that covers each other's sins (v. 8). In other words the focus is on the effect of love that enables fellowship in spite of sins. If that wasn’t enough, the apostle says we should be hospitable "without complaint" or without grumbling (v. 9). Love says, "I'm just going to cover the things about which I could complain and grumble." God's amazing word to us today is simply put: love covers sins, so that hospitality can happen, not because we agree on what the sins are, but because love covers them. Peter is saying that authentic love and fellowship is based, in part, on the covering of many sins. This is not sweeping things under the rug. It's not endorsing keeping skeletons in the closet. It's not renouncing church discipline. It's saying when we've done all the confrontation, when we've done all the argumentation and exhortation we cover it. Whatever side we are on, we cover it; we give it up; and, we keep from murmuring about it. Then we turn together to God's future grace so that we may so live "that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (v. 11). Now, that’s amazing grace indeed!