Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8

Do you find it hard to love someone who hurt you? What do you typically do when you discover someone you trusted lied about you, worked a situation against you, or told others not to trust you?

I’ll be honest, when someone close to me hurts me, my first instinct is disbelief. My mind races with questions like: How is this possible? Why is this happening? What in the world is going on here?

Recently, in preparing for a Valentine’s Day talk, I searched through the Bible looking for examples of God’s love. What I found were multiple examples where He loved overwhelmingly and unconditionally, no matter how His children felt or acted towards Him.

God has a great “track record” of love, one we can follow when we’re needing to love others, no matter what.

• God loved MOSES even when he repeatedly questioned His plans, pushing back against Him because he lacked the courage to live out the God-sized mission he’d been given.

• God loved DAVID even after he committed murder in order to cover up a web of lies and adultery. God called him “a man after His own heart,” even though David continued to sin and fall short.

• God loved RAHAB the prostitute. When the Israelites invaded her city, God rescued her, saved her family, and placed her in the lineage of descendants that would eventually include His son Jesus.

• GOD loved PETER even when he abandoned, denied, and ran away from Jesus on His most dire day. God chose Peter to build His church and called him a ROCK even when Peter felt like a failure.

• God loved PAUL, a murderer of Christians and persecutor of His church. God loved him enough to speak to him directly on the road to Damascus, calling him to become one of His greatest missionaries. We can know Jesus intimately today because Paul wrote over half of the New Testament.

God loves YOU… in these same ways. No matter what you’ve done, said or become, God’s love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).

Take a moment today and ask yourself which person above, if you were in God’s shoes, would be the hardest to love? Now, think about who in your life you’re finding it difficult to love. Are there any similarities between the two? Recognize that God loves that person, regardless of how they’re living or what they’ve done. Today, I challenge you do the same.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Call Movement

#love