Love Covers All Sins

“Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12)
“Now the works of the flesh are manifested, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelling, and such like… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:19-23) We have two warring factions within our bodies if we are born again: the flesh and the Spirit. They are in direct opposition to one another. We are only able to operate in one realm at a time; we either walk in the Spirit, or we walk after the flesh. (Galatians 5:16&23) Hatred, which is a manifestation of the flesh, brings conflict, strife, and turmoil to our lives. The works of the flesh will have dominion over us if we give into them, but we do not have to surrender because the Spirit within us is stronger than the flesh. (I John 4:4) The foundation for all of the gifts of the Spirit is love. Without love, we cannot sustain the other gifts. The unconditional love of God is available to us through the Holy Spirit, so that we can love others with God’s agape love that “covereth all sins” and faults. It is easy to love the loveable but difficult to love the unlovable. However, if we allow the Spirit of God to love through us, we will be able to be impartial men of God, whom He can use as instruments of reconciliation to bring others to Him.