I Peter 4: 7-11

The end is near. This is not a chronological end such as the end of a day, the end of a week or the end of time. But it means the goal or purpose is attained, it’s a matter of fulfillment. It’s the word used by Jesus on the cross when He said, "It is finished."

Because of the time, you are to be sober and prayerful. These two go together.

To be sober is to be clear minded, in your right mind, alert. Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth."

And you are to be prayerful. Your mind must be stable and focused on God or your prayers and communion with God is hindered.

This reminds us of the disciples on the night before the death of Jesus when they were sleepy and could not watch and pray.

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation."

He is speaking about suffering and then in verses 1-7 about how our desire is to live without sin whether in this life or in death, but don’t get so consumed with living without sin that you become legalistic, harsh and critical. Instead, "above all" let your priority be love. This is the paramount spiritual discipline. It is that one discipline of love that Jesus said is the mark that unbelievers will see and know we are Christians by our love.

Fervent means to stretching or straining and pictures an athlete stretching to achieve maximum output. It speaks of a horse straining to run at full speed as he sticks out – stretches his neck for the finish line.

Such love is sacrificial, not sentimental. This kind of fervent love moves us out of our comfort zone and requires stretching all your spiritual muscles in spite of injury, insult and misjudgment.

Why are we to love? Because ….

"Because love covers a multitude of sins."

Even though our goal is to live sinless, the truth is that we won’t. That can not be used as an excuse to justify our sin, but promotes us to live in reality.

It was the author of this letter that asked the Lord himself, "How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" He thought this was stretching himself because rabbinical teaching at that time said a person should forgive three times. But the Lord told Peter he should forgive "up to seventy times seven."

Since Peter has mentioned Noah already (in chapter 3), may be the thought here is when Noah’s sons backed into their father’s tent and covered his nakedness instead of exposing it. That, as John Bevere says in his book Under Cover is proper respect for those in authority over you.

It does not mean that the person is free from sin or that his sin is covered from God. Instead, you as believers cover it out of a sincere love.

We must always remember that when we forgive, it will cost us something. Forgiveness cost God his Son on the cross and it will cost us when we forgive others.

"Be hospitable" means we should love strangers – believers we don’t know. It was common for Christians to open their homes to believers who were passing through their village because the local arrangements would be unsuitable in physical cleanliness and in moral appropriateness.

The thought here is to open your heart and home and you do it ungrudgingly – with cheer.

We all have gifts to share and we are to be good stewards of those gifts. Most of the time we hear of stewardship in light of finances, but stewardship concerns all of our life, even our gifts.

You can be a tither and still not be a good steward if you are not using your gift (s) for the sake of the body.

Note the manifold grace of God. The many colored grace as a ray of light breaks into a spray of many hues of colors, so the gifts of God. No two gifts are the same.

These gifts are to be ministered to one another to mutually benefit the body of Christ. Thus we not only show our love by forgiving and having an open heart to one another, but also by ministering our gifts.

I Corinthians 10:31 "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

All is for the glory of God and nothing glorifies Him more than love among the brethren.