Welcome back to another round of Five Minute Friday!
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This week, our prompt is:
[Tweet “Join us for Five Minute Friday as we write on the prompt, EXPECT! #amwriting”]
Ready? GO.
This past week in our Bible study group, we read this verse: “ Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
I’ve read the same passage on numerous occasions, but this time, our leader pointed out something new. He said, “You know what this verse tells us? It tells us we should expect to be sinned against.” I’d never thought of it that way before. If we’re being told to love, because love covers over a multitude of sins, it naturally follows that there will be sins that need to be covered.
It reminded me of Jesus’ promise, “In this world you will have trouble…” (John 16:33).
BUT.
There’s a but.
Jesus goes on, “Take heart! For I have overcome the world. We will have trouble in this life. We can expect it. We should expect to be hurt and sinned against.
But how much more can we look forward with a holy anticipation and expectancy for the One who will come and make all things new. The One who will come to restore and make the broken pieces whole.
Yes, it’s going to hurt for a while longer, but He’s coming soon — let’s be ready.
STOP.
Add your own five minutes of free writing to the link-up below, then go ahead and leave a comment of encouragement on the blog linked up before yours!
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I love this verse. It was recently a memory verse for a month in Bridge Kids, and naturally (with leading two small groups each Sunday), I ended up memorizing it without trying. Such a treasure to store away, and such encouragement.
love that verse– it was my service club’s theme verse in college. Never thought of it that way! Thanks for sharing.
And John 16:33 is my favorite.
Yeah. It’s gonna hurt.
I thought of John 16:33 as I was mulling over this prompt, too, Kate! Such a good encouragement.
Thanks for being here, Courtney!
Thanks for sharing that, Kate. Such a wise word.
I heard a marriage counselor once say that it’s important to expect our spouses to be sinners just like us, and that means that they’re going to make mistakes, and we’re going to need to forgive. I’m not putting it as eloquently as he did, but it was along the same lines. Such a watermark moment in my marriage.
That is definitely a helpful perspective, Asheritah! I’ve heard similar advice as well — now if only I can remember it daily! 😉 So good to have you with us! Happy weekend, friend!
I really like your take on that verse! But it is true. And Jesus was the ultimate example to us which makes it even more important for us to show that love. super cool. thanks for giving us an awesome word!
You’re welcome! It’s a joy to have you with us! Hope you have a great Friday, Kristina!
the word multitude in that verse jumps off the page to me. Many many sins Love can cover over.
Thats good news for me. I have many that beg to be covered. You’re so right. If we are told love will cover a multitude there will surely be a multitude. Isn’t it funny how we easily expect the best to happen our dreams to come true and everything to pan out like we mapped it out on paper…or we vacillate to expecting the worst and wearing pessimism like our best hoodie shrouding out the light of our real lives. Expectations….
I’m so glad love covers them. I’ve also thought lately about how i cover people? Does my love cover people or my pride/hurt allow me to uncover them. I want to be one who tends to cover not an exposer. Ouch.
Thank you for this verse
Excellent thoughts, Somer. Thank you for giving us this glimpse into your heart. It’s an encouraging, convicting verse, isn’t it?
Beautiful insight: thanks for sharing that with us, Kate. It helps me to see it in a new light too. If we expect it to come, we can be more prepared to love in return and less inclined to sit in our hurt.
A dear friend of mine recently shared about how her kids encouraged her to bake some cookies for some neighborhood boys who were causing real trouble…reminding her of the Scripture she taught them about loving your enemies. She had been more focused on telling them off. This had a huge impact on these neighborhood boys: directly showing them the love of Jesus in action. It made me realize how we should be much more like our kids, who forgive and love in return much more quickly (at least more quickly than I usually do!).
Oh wow, what a testimony! That’s a sign of grace-filled parenting right there. So glad you shared this story. And yes, I love your thoughts on being prepared with love. 🙂
Over and over in The Word, God gives us expectation. Expect is synonymous with HOPE. And, HOPE changes everything! Yes, Lord!
Amen!
Yes. I like this perspective. I never thought of it this way either.
🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting, Michelle! Blessings to you!
Expect to be sinned against… so true and such a good word. I really appreciated your perspective.
I’ve always had a different take on that verse… Jesus’ love, demonstrated on the cross… covers the multitude of my sins, and the sins of any other who will just ask. And, it is His love that compels, pushing and enabling me to love others… even just the littlest, tiniest bit… as He loves me.
Kate,
So true. We need to love and we need to be loved because none of us is perfect. Thanks for the word of wisdom 🙂
“We should expect to be sinned against.”
Huh. I’ve never though of it that way before, either. In a way, having that expectation takes some of the sting out. Not that conflict and betrayal doesn’t hurt, but…of course it’s going to happen because nobody but Jesus is Jesus. Huh. I’ll be thinking on this for awhile.