My God, he covers me with His wings and protects me with angels, most often when I am unaware.
When a baby is born we swaddle them with blankets and keep them in tight, for warmth yes, but more than that the coverage is for security. They are totally dependent upon us. As they grow, arms and legs stick out. They begin to squirm. Toddlers think they are independent but only as far as we the parent, let them. If we choose, even with loud clamor or even kicking, we can still contain them.
As all of us age, there comes a time when we believe we are free, or should be free to make our own choices. Some of it, as teens comes with age, thinking what we know is best. Others can view this as rebellion, but sometimes it’s the expression of finding out who we are, even if we know there are impending consequences.
As we gain this freedom, we begin to look beyond ourselves at others. Comparison is a mighty powerful tool. It’s a tricky one that takes most of our life to learn. We compare houses, level of hard work, how kids behave, how we were raised. Anything can be compared. Often everything we do not want or lack is compared.
Like anything else, it has it’s good and it’s not so good. If we don’t compare, we can’t learn from the mistakes of others or society and we actually help history repeat itself. But what I noticed we should be comparing are things we need more of:
- Acts of kindness in the everyday life as in the example of people like Mother Teresa
- Paying it forward as has been the common theme in restaurants and drive thru’s (you could even start it)
- Or a movie a friend told me about (I need to see) about a football trilogy where the coach encourages a young man who is carrying (blindfolded) another man on his knees. He is there encouraging even when he wants to give up. The goal was 50 yards and he carried him 100 yards
- What if we compared ourselves to those whose leadership and guidance we admire and strive to be more like them
How does any of this relate to coverage and how this devotion started?
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Comparing is natural and it is also important. It’s not judgment. People like to turn it into judging. How can I get better if I don’t see the gifts and abilities and good things other do? How they are? What’s fun about a toddler and younger child, is the parents are the hero. They compare. They emulate. My hubby fixed a few toys…after that, the kids thought he could fix ANYTHING. What a fun place for them and for him.
His GRACE covers it all. Love covers sin. Jesus needs us to do that for others. As we approach this week and see comparison, let’s be one who covers for others in real truth and love.