Above all else - love

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4.8

What do you think should be at the top of the list of things the believer should do in relation to each other? If we had not just read this verse what would be the A1 priority? 

Above all things love each other with a fervent love. I know love is important – we certainly hear enough about it. But this passage says that it must have the primacy. 

Surely there are things more important than love – or are there? Remember how Jesus summarised the law? He said, to put it briefly, ‘love God and love others.’ 

Remember ‘faith, hope, and charity…but the greatest of these is charity?’

How about ‘don’t owe anybody anything but to love each other.’ 

We could go on and on, couldn’t we? I think I am safe to say that the most important thing we have to remember is to love. It is true that there is a special point to loving each other since that is how the world is going to know us, but we are also told to love our enemies. 

I am afraid that we don’t always do so well. I am afraid that non-believers that I know find a loving Christian to be the exception instead of the rule. My brethren these things ought not so to be.

And why is love so important. Why does it have a place of primacy? 

Because if we love it covers a lot of our other flaws. It doesn’t cover them in God’s eyes of course, but if we love people they can overlook a lot of our other weaknesses. True love is so rare that when people see it that is the feature that stands out. 

If people could just see me as a man who loves others it would make a bigger impact than anything I can do. 

So Lord, help me to love above all else.