Love Deeply

There's a wonderful quote from I Peter that goes like this: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." I like the application of the adverb deeply, for it is this depth, this extremity of love that rises above the more ignoble inclinations of man that stand in the way. And I think this is a good verse as well for gaining a greater understanding of what is meant by sin. This is a word that has collected the more unfortunate dust of the ages, such that its originally intended meaning has become greatly obscured, like the face of a coal miner hidden beneath the lifetime grime of his occupation. Where the sense of this verse is concerned, and the sense of the word in general, sin is better represented by failings, weaknesses, regretful actions -- anger, jealousy, greed, unkindness, betrayal -- those 'lesser' things to which we are all prone as natural men and women. In the literal Greek, sin merely means "missing the mark, falling short". Through time, and indeed often enough through misapplication by religious people, the word sin has gathered about itself an aura of harshness and judgement, of accusation and damnation. And yet, in the scripture, we are told not to judge or condemn, but to love deeply, such that mercy and forgiveness may be elevated to the utmost. The lesser things, after all, are easy and quite natural. If our neighbor falls short, we like to feel justified in falling short as well, tit for tat. Yet Peter says love deeply, and thus free both yourself and your fellows from the curse of being less than love can afford.