1 Peter 4:8 “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].” Today's episode reminds us how important it is to nurture and cultivate our relationship with our spouse and our kids. When we are more in love with them, the little things don't bother us as much. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Love Covers A Multitude Of Sins
1 Peter 4:8 “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].”
Today’s prayer point for the healing service preparation is to pray to strengthen marriages. This is something that is so needed. Marriages are something that is definitely under attack. Satan is working hard to destroy our families. He is attacking our children, and he is attacking our marriages. I went to a marriage retreat in Germany when we lived overseas. The retreat was sponsored by the Military Arch Diocese but was put on by a German organization. I can not remember their name right now. They told us that Germany was trying to pass a law so that marriages would have a time limit or an expiration date. I don’t remember all the details, but I think they said it because they thought there would be fewer divorces if people just got married for 10 or 20 years, and then they could decide if they wanted to continue being married.
This is crazy. When we say “I Do,” we are saying it forever. However, this doesn’t tend to be the case these days. The divorce rate in America for first marriages is 33% within the first 10 years; for second marriages, it is 60-70%. That is pretty high. We definitely need to be praying for our marriages. The reason I say that Satan is attacking our marriages is because I believe he is behind all the pornography in the world. He is behind the normalization of many things that weren’t normal once upon a time. It seems like cheating on your spouse used to be something you did privately and hoped you didn’t get caught. Now, it seems as though “open” marriages are something that is accepted. In an “open” marriage, the couple can sleep with other people.
The act of sexual intercourse is no longer a special bond between a husband and wife. It is shared with others outside of the marriage. It seems more common to have an affair. I know adultery was happening long before Jesus came into the world. Back then, it was not something to be celebrated, though. Nowadays, it seems like it is normalized. It seems like if you hear someone is cheating on their spouse, it is hardly shocking. You almost expect it. It is really sad.
What I love about the verse above is that it reminds us to have intense and unfailing love for one another. This is something that takes intention and is not always easy to do. When we talk about love, we talk about falling in love. We talked about how we met and fell in love with our wife or husband. However, after you fall in love, you must stay in love; that is where the work comes in. When you first get married, everything is new and exciting. You are deeply in love and can’t imagine anything changing. However, as the years pass, you settle into a routine. You both get busy with work and if you have a family, that keeps you busy as well. If you are not careful, you start to grow apart. There is nothing major that happens and yet you are slowly growing apart.
It happens so slowly that you hardly even notice. Your schedules are different, so you don’t see each other as much. You are both working so much you are like ships passing in the night. You make sure one of you is home to be with the kids while the other is working or doing what they must do. You are both exhausted at night and so you go to sleep. There is no time for talking, let alone any intimacy of any kind. When this happens, the enemy gets in there and starts to point out all the annoying things about your spouse. All the things that didn’t really bother you before because you were so in love with this person. However, now you see all the flaws as if they were highlighted.
Everyone listening knows exactly what I am talking about. The reason I picked this translation is because of the language it uses. It resonated so much with me. It says, “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].” Did you catch that last part? It says our intense and unfailing love for one another forgives and disregards the offenses of others. Did you notice when you first met your husband or wife that their little idiosyncrasies didn’t really bother you? You either didn’t even notice them, or you did, but you were so in love that you thought they were cute.
We are who we are. I doubt you or your spouse have changed that much since you married. It is more likely that we have forgotten to have intense and unfailing love for one another, which is normal if we are not intentional about it. We need to nurture our love for our spouse and even our kids with intention, just like we would nurture anything we want to grow. This verse is straight out of the Bible. God is showing us what is needed for a good marriage. God is showing us how important love is. Not just any love, either. We need intense and unfailing love. If you have noticed lately that you are taking offense to what others are saying to you, you may need to nurture your love for that person.
One way to do this is to ask the Father to give you his heart for that person. I have heard two stories in the last week of people who have been given the Lord’s heart for someone. They said it was strange because they didn’t really know this person well, yet they had this overwhelming love for that person. It was a love that made no sense to them. They couldn’t explain it, and yet it was there anyway. You can do the same for anyone in your life, especially if you are taking offense easily or if the little things they do annoy you. Just ask the Father to give you His heart for them.
Something else you can do to help rekindle this intense and unfailing love is to spend more quality time with your spouse. What do they like to do? Can you do that with them? What do you like to do together? What did you do while you were dating? When was the last time you had a real conversation with your spouse that was not about the weather or the kids? I have also found regular physical contact is so important in a relationship. I still remember one time when I was upset, and my neighbor hugged me. I had no idea that was what I needed, but I will never forget how it made me feel.
Sometimes, we get stuck in our routines and forget to make time for one another. We forget that intimacy is always important. When we were little, we used to be grossed out by seeing our parents kiss. As an adult, I see that has helped them stay married for over 60 years. We can’t let the little things like kissing, hugging, and holding hands slip away. When we do, we will grow apart even faster. We might think we don’t need these things, but we do! I notice that when Tony and I do those things regularly, we complain less. We are less nit-picky. This verse is a great reminder. “Above all things, have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we ask you to bless all of our marriages. Lord, strengthen our love for our spouse, children, and loved ones. Lord, we ask you to give us your heart for our loved ones. Let us see them as you see them, Lord! Lord, help us to fall more in love with them. Help us not to take offense or get annoyed. Fill us with so much love for them, Lord! We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I wanted to mention a retreat I am speaking at tomorrow morning. It will be on Zoom from 10-12 EST. The theme is God’s Reckless Love. If you aren’t busy tomorrow morning, what better way to start your day than learning about how much God loves you and how much He forgives you? It will be a great time. I hope you can join me. CLICK HERE for the Zoom link. I will put a link in the comments section if you watch this on YouTube. I look forward to meeting you here on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I! I pray you have a very blessed weekend!
Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I have a path. I have a direction for each and every one of My children. You will not wander in the desert. You will have My Voice and My Spirit to guide you. So fear not; I am present always.”
Topic: Watchmen Retreat God’s Reckless Love
Time: Feb 10, 2024 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82241775665?pwd=OU5oRzdTdG8rWC9lL0wzNzhIb2VpZz09
Meeting ID: 822 4177 5665
Passcode: 966517