Verse 8
In relation to their fellow Christians, Peter considered it most important that his readers keep their brotherly love at full strength (1 Peter 1:22; Romans 13:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 John 4:7-11). The same expression occurs in non-biblical Greek to describe a horse at full gallop and a runner straining for the tape at the finish line of a race.
The person with this kind of love is willing to forgive and even covers a multitude of the sins of others committed against himself or herself rather than taking offense (Proverbs 10:12; James 5:20). We cannot compensate for our own sins by loving others. Peter was not saying that. The proper way to deal with our sins is to confess them (1 John 1:9).
"Love hides them from its own sight and not from God’s sight. Hate does the opposite; it pries about in order to discover some sin or some semblance of sin in a brother and then broadcasts it, even exaggerates it, gloats over it." [Note: Lenski, p. 195. Cf. 1 Corinthians 13:5.]
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