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The Book of 1st Peter: Message Forty Seven
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
One night, as Eddie Cantor was
entertaining some orphans, he noticed that one little girl didn't
enter into anything. Walking over to her, he asked, "Can I do
anything to help you?" In tears she said, "Love me."
Love that's God-given and not man-made begins with a capital L. It
reaches up vertically to God and then out horizontally to man. If
your love hasn't gone out to man, it's because it didn't begin with
God. Let's turn to 1st Peter 4:8 to 11 and
Note the habit. The Bible says,
"Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves."
The words "above all" mean "most important of
all," or "before all in order of importance" have
"charity." By the word "charity" is meant the
love of God. You don't have this love because of something on the
outside, but because of Someone on the inside…the God of love.
This is the love that will bleed to bless, that will sacrifice to
serve, that will cause you to be cruel to yourself in order to be
kind to others. Now in speaking of this love, the Bible adds the
word "fervent." Literally, it means
"outstretching." This love stretches out to others. It's
not like the love the old man had who prayed:
"Lord, bless me and my wife,
my son John and his wife, us four and no more."
Neither is it like the love that
couple had who lived further down the street and prayed:
"Lord, bless us two, and that
will do."
Nor is it like the love that old
bachelor had who prayed:
"Lord, bless only me, that's
as far as I can see."
This love of God, that's produced
in the heart of the child of God by the God of love, stretches out
to those who are loveless as well as to those who are lovely; to
those who are unloved as well as to those who are loved. "Do
you like dollies?" a little girl asked her house guest.
"Very much," he answered. "Then," she said,
"I'll show you mine." One by one she introduced her dolls
to him. "And tell me," he said, "which is your
favorite doll?" She left the room and came back, bringing a
doll that was badly broken. The hair was gone, the nose was broken,
the face was scratched, and an arm was missing. "Why," he
asked, "do you love this doll best?" "I love her
most," she confessed, "because if I didn't love her, no
one else would." Does your love stretch out to those that no
one else loves?
Note the hiding. It's written in 1st
Peter 4:8, "Love shall cover a multitude of sins." Love
doesn't spread the sins of others, it shields them. It doesn't
herald them, it hides them. During his reign as conqueror of the
world, Alexander the Great wanted his portrait painted, and he
wanted a full-face pose instead of a profile. This bothered the
artist because there was a long scar on one side of Alexander's
face. He thought for a moment, and then he found a solution. He
seated Alexander at the table, and placing the general's elbow upon
it, asked him to cup his chin in his hand. Then he adjusted the
general's fingers so that one covered his ugly scar. This done, he
went to work with his paint and brushes. That's love. Love covers
the sins and shortcomings of the loved. When one, whose life has
been scarred by a multitude of sins, comes to Christ, love forgives
and forgets, cancels and covers them. When you come to the Lord,
repenting of your sins and renouncing them, the Lord not only
removes them from you, but He remembers them no more. He casts them
into the depths of the sea, and He hangs out a sign in big letters,
"No fishing."
Note the hospitality. It's written
in 1st Peter 4:9, "Use hospitality one to another
without grudging." This love not only stretches out, and
shields, but it also shelters. This word "hospitality" is
interesting. It signifies "being friendly to strangers."
This must be important, for it's mentioned in Romans 12:13 that the
Christian should be "given to hospitality." And the word
"given" means "pursuing." Thus not only should
you seize an opportunity to be hospitable, but you should seek for
it. A humble Christian gentleman was tired and thirsty and he
stopped at a farm house for a glass of water. A little girl and her
mother greeted him, and they were so hospitable. They insisted that
he drink cool, refreshing milk. On leaving, that man, Dr. Howard
Kelly, a world-famous surgeon, said, "If you ever need
treatment, come to my hospital." Years later the mother needed
treatment, and she went to Dr. Kelly. Her life was saved, and as she
was ready to leave she was handed a bill, and at the bottom he
wrote, "Paid in full with one glass of milk." The Lord
will always help those who help Him and all that are His.
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version..
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
