Love covers all

The disciple and apostle, Peter, knew what forgiveness meant, the joy of having the worst sins covered over.

A few years ago I was helping a friend to change some halogen ceiling light bulbs in her mum’s kitchen. In the day these lights were very popular, but they were very hot as well as bright, and some bulbs / fittings didn’t have great longevity.  So we were in her mum’s kitchen, which had only been installed for a few months, I was on the stepladder. Warning; for readers who are very sensitive about their kitchens, this incident may cause some distress. I removed the light fitting from the ceiling to check it over and replaced the bulb. Finding that it was on a long flex, I lowered it down onto the work surface and asked Thelma to switch on the lights to test it. What happened next is tragic but true. The lights were working but not only giving light, there was acrid smoke rising from the suspended light. Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring. As I lifted up the offending item it revealed a black circle, in the middle of a pristine worktop. 

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We called Mum into the kitchen. I would describe Thelma’s Mum was a fine ‘straight speaking ‘lady who, ‘said what she meant and meant what she said’. While we waited, I remember admiring  the worktop which ran the length of the kitchen, all neatly finished with tiles.  After we had briefly explained the incident, she simply slid over a fruit bowl to cover the black circle. That was it. Mum declared that the bowl would live there, and that was the end of the matter. I  made some weak protestation about how I could rectify the situation, but inwardly knowing that I would only make it worse. And, true to her word, there was never a word about the incident. 

The psalmist declares in Psalm 32: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

I could barely believe that my mistake had been dealt with so graciously. It’s true that I had not set out to cause malicious damage, but being thoughtless or careless has consequences as we all know. Some may be familiar with the prayer of general confession:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbours, in thought and word and deed, in the bad we have done and in the good we have not done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault….

As I write this blog, I have been prompted to reflect, would I have been so gracious? The answer is no. Even if I had tried to brush it under the carpet (or the fruit bowl) then I certainly would have inspected it soon afterwards and probably told a few unfortunate souls about the careless DIYer who just lived around the corner - mentioning no names of course.

The disciple and apostle, Peter, knew what forgiveness meant, the joy of having the worst sins covered over. He experienced it first hand from His master, his Lord and friend. He had caused the deepest hurt to his best friend, in the notorious triple denial, during our Lord’s darkest hour. Yet Peter’s example of sin and restitution has been the healing for countless believers and fellowships through the centuries. And so Peter exhorts us all in his timeless letter. 

(1 Peter 4:8) Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins

Author: Richard Windridge

May God bless and enrich your life

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