This Thanksgiving...
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.—1 Peter 4:7-11
Today...Thanksgiving, is no different from any other day of our lives in that we, as children of God, have MUCH for which to be thankful! Our God’s steadfast love toward us never takes a break...it continues and endures forever.
Today I praise Him for His good hand upon our nation. I praise Him for His provision. I praise Him for His word which is good, right and perfect. I praise Him for His active goodness, kindness, and love toward us His children. I praise Him also for His undeserved favor, mercy and blessing. I praise Him especially for saving us...for the precious and indescribable gift of His Son.
Many of us will spend time with our families today. Praying that by His Spirit, we can live out these words of 1 Peter 4.
And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
I have spent so much time in the Scriptures in the verses that speak to love and have come to the conclusion that love truly is the answer to all things. God is love and if we put on His love our relationship with Him and with those around us will be, as much as depends on us, right, peaceable and pure.
The word fervent in this verse, according to John MacArthur, means to be stretched to the limit...stretched like a rubber band to its breaking point. THAT is a lot of love. It is the kind of love that is self-sacrificing and puts others needs and spiritual good ahead of our own...despite...and this is so important...how we are treated. Christ is our perfect example here. (Read Isaiah 50, Isaiah 52 and 53, read the gospel accounts of His suffering and death.) We are to put on love even when we are being treated unkindly, ungraciously, or even with hostility. We are to have mercy with the faults of others and be patient and not retaliate even when we are being mistreated. That is a very tall order and obviously cannot be done without His Spirit living in our hearts.
Beloved, this Thanksgiving remember that the end of all things IS nearer than when we first believed. This Thanksgiving show others Christ...show them His love....bring them to Him who can save them from an eternity without Him. In the end it is all that matters.
