Love Deeply

My Dad's family when he was a teenager. Life was

not easy but they loved deeply. 

Scripture:

1Pet. 1:22    Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. ²³ You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For

“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 

That word is the good news that was announced to you.

Observation:

Peter has established that these believers of the diaspora are to be grounded in the work of Christ. The result is to be seen in mutual love and affection for one another. This is a deep love, one that is active and equates to straining with all of our ability. This love is to come from a pure heart, one that has been born anew. The promise comes from the word of God, and the quote from Isaiah is a reminder of the endurance of God’s promises. 

Application:

The Christian community is to be defined by holy love: love for God and love for one another. These words of Peter should strike at the heart of people of faith. The first word describing this love is genuine. There should be nothing phony about the way in which we engage with one another. This love is to bubble up from the inside and flow to the outside. That is what makes love genuine. Not everyone is lovable, and yet, they become lovable when we are born anew. 

We are to have mutual love within the community of faith. What is so transformational about God’s holy love is that it unites people who may be very different. Note, it doesn’t make us all alike, it simply unites us in Christ. God’s people ought to be able to love people who have varying opinions about things in life. Our new birth in Christ becomes the overarching factor that unites us with our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

To love one another deeply means that we are to be intentional. We all know that it’s not easy to love some people. Even marriage is a place where couples have to work hard to continually cultivate the relationship. Love doesn’t just always “happen” — but when hard work is applied, the result is transformative. 

Let’s be honest, many of us are growing weary of this pandemic and the inability to live our lives the way in which we were accustomed. It’s easy to take out our frustration on others, but that’s where loving deeply comes in. Intentionality in loving those who may not agree with us is God’s intention for those who have been born anew. That new birth ought to be reflected in how we love. 

Prayer:

Lord, we need your love to overflow. Please, help me to be an active participant in loving deeply. Amen.