<p>4:8 <i>Above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves- </i>Love within the Christian community is what is most urgently called for by an awareness that the Lord could come at any time. Why love? Surely because this will be the prime issue which will factor in the outcome of our judgment.</p><p><i>For love covers a multitude of sins- </i>It cannot really be just that by loving, we get covering for our sins. The letters of James and Peter are clearly connected, and the parallel in James is in James 5:20 see note there: &quot;He who turns back a sinner from the error of his way, he shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins&quot;. Our love for others can lead to <i>their</i> sins being covered. This has huge implications; our efforts for others in this regard should consume our lives if indeed we can play a role, account for a certain percentage, in the final equation of human salvation. The Lord is of course the Saviour and not us, but in His wisdom, He has delegated some elements of His scheme to us and our freewill. Thus the faith of a man's friends led to his forgiveness in Mk. 2:5.</p>