Harmony Amidst Sour Notes by Melissa Irwin

My internal chaos compromised my aptitude for safety. I drove at a normal pace, and no obstacles were present, but my mind malfunctioned—tangled by the events of the prior day— and I slammed into his rear bumper. This highway stranger drove a luxury vehicle, so I feared an angry, entitled reaction to my senseless lack of attention that disrupted our morning commute.  He stepped out of his car—tie blown by the rush of vehicles racing toward their familiar parking garages— and I braced for a nasty remark about women drivers. Instead of the hostility I anticipated, he glanced at his bumper, surveyed me with his eyes, and asked if I was okay.  I apologized for my negligence. His response astonished me. This man, who with every right to exhibit anger, instead tenderly said, “I’m just glad you’re okay.  Don’t worry about my bumper.”  He returned to his car and drove away.  In those weird moments, he showed me the love of Christ.  He let me off the hook because of his compassion, not because I deserved it.

He loved me by withholding anger, nor prioritizing the appearance of his car over my wellbeing.  He loved me by allowing his tender heart to cover a multitude of wrongs that day. He allowed the love in his heart to interrupt our collision.

One day earlier, Tuesday, September 11, 2001, evil rattled America. Satan conducted his symphony of clanging cymbals, a plot to drown out our melodies. When I plowed into the automobile of a stranger, rather than scream off-key, the man accepted the call to step into harmony with me. The terrorist attacks on 9/11 assaulted him too, and by my account, shifted his mindset toward the community. His eyes revealed to me a craving for unity, as they swallowed me into himself, taking me in as one with him as if to bind the world’s schism accentuated on that terrible Tuesday. He turned down the volume on the devil’s deceitful soundtrack—tunes of battles and blame. He recognized that shiny metal and fancy chrome emblems held little value compared to me as a human being—the pinnacle of God’s creation. At that moment, he satisfied my personal craving for grace and my need for harmony. His love effectively covered my wrongs. Instead of ending our encounter on a sour note of anger or resentment, the stranger whose shalom I vandalized, responded with a sweet song of peace, as if I hadn’t wrecked his day. Jesus does this. He offers us his peace rather than the wrath we deserve.  He loves us just as much the day after our collisions as he does the day before. Under his cover, our sins are hidden.

So, if love covers a multitude of sins, does anger expose them? What if love miraculously shields God from seeing the worst in humanity? What if loving others well keeps their sins covered?  A covering of blankets keeps us warm.  Tent covers keep us shielded.  Some covers keep us hidden.  What if Jesus means the more love we express for others, the more sin is hidden from His view, and thereby keeps us innocent?

Our present society feeds on scandal and the exposure of failures, where sins get dug up and dissected for the whole world to see, unleashing evil toxins to slither into the crevices of our souls, hearts, and minds until finally, we all stink of rot. But Jesus inspired a verse about love covering sin.  Today He might look into your eyes and say something like this; “If you will practice love above all else, your heart will hide your imperfections from me.”

What if we were to adopt this model instead of charging forward with fury? Instead of exposing the deceit of a friend, we rest in the shield of God and allow Him to avenge our honor in His way at His time. Instead of pointing fingers at foes, we withhold our outbursts and trust God to use their evil for our good. Instead of dangling shortcomings over the heads of our family members, we acknowledge that our own shortcomings nailed Jesus to the Cross. Instead of allowing clanging cymbals to be our theme song, we dance to the joy of the Lord. If we crank up the volume of the love we have through Jesus—“We love because He first loved us.” (1 Jn 4:19), we have the power to shield a world of transgressions from his sight, not only our own but those who wreck us throughout our lifetimes. 

In the sin of our old selves, we rear-ended Jesus, but his gracious and merciful love covers us. Today we can sing to the Lord a new song (Ps 96). When we walk harmoniously with others—even if others are clanging cymbals—we leave his fingerprints on them, and he wipes away the incriminating evidence of our sin.

Scripture Inspirations:

• 1 Corinthians 13:1 (ESV). If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 
• 1 Peter 3:8-9 (GW) Finally, everyone must live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble. Don't pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you, or ridicule those who ridicule you. Instead, bless them, because you were called to inherit a blessing. 
• 4:8 (ESV)  Above all, love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins. 
• Romans 12 (ESV) (v 9) Love deeply...outdo one another in showing honor. (V 16) Live in harmony with one another. (V 18) If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
• Romans 4:7-8 (ESV) “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” 

Melissa Irwin, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, lives on a small farmette in Franklin, TN with her husband and children. She serves in global orphan-care, and loves writing and teaching the Bible to women and young adults. Her works have been published in Lifeway Research, Sacred Stories Ministries, and her blog MelissaIrwin.com.