Love Covers

He spoke. They disobeyed. He looked for. They were naked. He called out. They hid. He confronted. They blamed. He covered.

Love Himself covered those He had created with garments made from the skin of an animal He killed. Despite the fact they had sinned against Him and grieved His heart, Love reached out and covered.

During my “Following in the footsteps of Paul tour” in Greece and Turkey, we were taken to the ancient city of Corinth. 

Many scholars believe that Paul wrote four letters to the Corinthians, but our Bibles only contain letters two and four. In Paul’s day, Corinth was a strategic, wealthy, commercial port of the Roman colony. Here he planted a church with the help of Aquila and Priscilla. The Jewish religious leaders had rejected him so he carried on with the Gentiles. As a port city, Corinth was renown for its constant  exposure to all kinds of people, ideas, and morals. In fact, to “Corinthianize” meant the participation in drunkenness and immoral sexual practices. Needless to say, Paul had his hands full! 

Five centuries before Paul’s arrival, on the 2000-foot (609 metres) summit of the Acrocorinth, there was a temple dedicated to the worship of Aphrodite. She was the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation, and her Roman equivalent was the goddess Venus. Here 1000 temple prostitutes performed their duties. 

Ruins of Temple to the worship of Aphrodite

Acrocorinth

Although the temple was in ruins long before Paul came to the city, its spirit lived on in the prostitutes who roamed the streets looking for clients. As our tour group stood in the ruins of that ancient city, our Greek Christian tour guide pointed us to some Bible passages that Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians. In some cases, he was even able to show us what Paul would have been referring to in those passages. One passage our guide referred to was about head coverings. 

What our guide understood about this passage was that prostitutes in Paul’s day had uncovered, shaved heads to distinguish them from other women who wore head coverings in public, as was the norm in those days. Their uncovered, shaved heads would ensure that especially the foreigners coming to the city would know whom to approach. When prostitutes came into a saving knowledge of Christ, their hair would take a long time to grow. In order for these women not to stand out from the other women in the church, Paul said all should wear head coverings. The tour guide suggested this was Paul’s way of protecting these ex-prostitutes from being ostracized; likewise, his way of protecting the reputation of the married women. No matter their background, they were all to be viewed as equal, which they were in God’s eyes.

I in no way consider myself a theologian or a Bible scholar. Thus, I will avoid delving into an exegesis of this passage. What I do love to discover, and encourage others to discover, is the heart of the Word. For me hearing this description was refreshing. It revealed the heart of Paul who knew firsthand that “Love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12; 1 Peter 4:8). 

From my perspective, the heart of this passage isn’t whether women should or shouldn’t wear head coverings in church today; it’s about looking into our own hearts to see whether we are proponents of our heavenly Father’s “Love covers” campaign or not?

In a mirror, dimly

Have you ever wondered why a word or prophecy that you were given has not come to pass as you expected? I have. Now that I am a lot more keen on learning God’s ways, and not wanting my own way, I have a partial, but not complete, understanding of why. Towards the end of Paul’s chapter in 1 Corinthians on love, he writes, 

“For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

Paul likens how we see knowledge and prophecy as looking in a mirror, dimly. Now to our 21^st Century minds this concept of a mirror doesn’t make sense. For us a mirror is far from dim! It is either our friend or foe because it reflects such a brutally honest image of how we look. Without our mirrors how would we know we have grey hairs sprouting, or a pimple protruding, or a piece of spinach stuck in-between our teeth? Unless, of course, we have a brutally honest friend or spouse! 

Ancient mirror made of polished bronze

On the contrary, the 1^st Century mirror Paul was referring to was made of polished bronze or metal. Our Greek tour guide pointed to such a mirror in a display case referring to this verse in 

1 Corinthians. Indeed, one would only see their reflection in part. Thus, the imperfect or dim view of themselves in the mirror, Paul compared to our imperfect understanding of knowledge and prophecy here on earth. 

It was the end of 2006 when I sensed the Lord saying I would be leaving Zimbabwe where I had been serving as a missionary since 1999. A treasure hunt to discover where He was sending me and what I would be doing ensued. As I prayed, fasted, studied His Word and sought counsel from those I trusted, I received small clues along the way. I don’t know if you are like me, but I eagerly turned the clues into conclusions, and started imagining and planning the next step. I quickly learned during this transitional time of seeking that God doesn’t like to be put in a box—He likes room to move and expand. The prophetic words and dreams I received during this time were meant for His interpretation and fulfilment, not mine. They were going to unfold and be completed in the time He desired (I moved to Cape Town in 2009); much like a baby developing in a womb and waiting for the appointed time of delivery. If God fulfilled the word immediately it would be deformed, incomplete, much like the development of a new life. It cannot be born at the moment of conception. It needs a safe, protected womb or environment for it to develop, and it will only be released when it is ready to breathe through its own lungs. I realized later that in many ways my prayers and fasting were attempts to twist God’s arm to move in the way I thought He wanted. I also realized He wanted to be the Treasure I discovered, not the clues along the way.

The more I discover God’s ways, the more I realize He isn’t interested in microwave results, but rather, that of a slow cooker. That way the flavours are more pronounced because they took their time to simmer. It is in our times of simmering that God produces something beautiful in us, and eventually through us. During our time here on earth, which is but a blink of the eye in relation to eternity, we will only see and know in part. It is only when we meet our Saviour and Lord face to face will we see and know perfectly why things had to be the way they were. In the meantime, may we put our trust in the One who sees and knows perfectly, clearly and lovingly.