God’s Goodness ----- Smelling
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (I Peter 4:8 ESV)
Perfumes, air fresheners, and deodorants are successful Industries because most people, at some time or another, desire to smell nice.
And usually, such a desire arises from the need to mask something ugly.
We do not usually say something like, “my breath smells like daffodils… I will mask that odor by smelling like a blueberry instead.”
We do not usually say something like, “my car smells like springtime… I will mask that odor by smelling like a bakery instead.”
We do not usually say something like, “I want to impress that girl, so rather than my usual scent of strawberries, I will smell instead like daisies.”
Peter quotes a Biblical Proverb here, and points out that love masks the odor of sin. Our sins are not as offensive, reproachable, or hurtful, if we mask them with our loving thoughts, words, and deeds. We still have sin… but we can lessen sin’s effects.
Christ’s love: sacrificial, unconditional, and humble, masks our sin, too. He pays for our sin. He presents our lives before God masked with His holiness. He covers over our stench, replacing it with the scent of Easter lilies, holy incense, and love.
But God does not need to mask anything. He is already good, all the time. There is nothing God needs to disguise, hide, or cover up.
HIS Love is not a masking, but His natural state.