Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.”
What in the world is wrong-covering love? It’s the God kind of love. It’s not repulsed by the baser parts of our human nature. It covers all our pettiness, failures, doubts, and blatant sins. It hangs around when we try to push it away. As artist Tauren Wells sings, it continues to fully love us even when it fully knows who we are.
Once we receive it, we can’t help but want to extend it to those who wrong us. Because that’s what love does. It refuses to hold grudges (1 Corinthians 13:5). Like Teflon, it covers our hearts with a substance capable of deflecting all the anger-tipped arrows of hatred we encounter in a fallen world. When you have the privilege of seeing wrong-covering love in action, you won’t forget it.
I witnessed this love in one of my friends when she was snubbed by a family member. Rather than withdrawing in rejection, she chose to proactively pursue the one who hurt her. And our creative God gave her creative ways to break through. In the end, the power of God’s love kept the relationship from being derailed. In fact, it grew stronger than ever. Love won. It always does when we give it a chance (1 Cor. 13:8).
Solomon—the wisest man who ever lived— contrasted the effects of hate and love. Hatred causes conflict. It stirs up the stinky pot of divisiveness. Love, on the other hand, refuses to dwell on what’s wrong. It focuses on what’s right. It births truth, security, hope and peace (1 Cor. 13:6-7). Wouldn’t you rather give up that ugly unforgiveness in exchange for all the goodness love brings about?
Christmas resounds with no stronger message than that of love. You, like me, will probably be exchanging gifts with loved ones this year. Maybe you will extend special blessings to those less fortunate. Or you might be gathering with friends or family members you find hard to love. I pray you will remember that the same love covering the Son of God in swaddling cloths wants to cover you in all your weaknesses, all your nakedness. Then he wants you to extend that wrong-covering love to everyone you meet. As Bob Goff writes, to Everyone Always.