1 Peter 1:22
"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:"
Admission: Loving God is easy. Admission # 2: Loving people is hard. Why is that? With our flaws and fallibilities, we often annoy one another far more than encourage. We are all together abrasive, insensitive and judgmental. God, on the other hand, died for us...loves us...is holy (instead of annoying)...and perfect. We feel that God is quite easy and natural to love.
Not so. As humans, we naturally HATE God and the things of God. Scripture tells us that outside of the grace of God, we would love darkness more than God.
John 3:19- This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
In fact, the lack of love (after we say "we know Christ") casts a suspicious shadow over our "conversion." 1 John 4:20 states that we're liars if we say we love God but hate our brother.
Yet, let's be real...you and I have a REAL hard time loving people (much less our enemies whom Jesus commanded us to love). Our natural flesh feels vindicated to some degree, when we harbor intense hatred towards that relative who berated or abused us. Yet, ironically when we hate...we just imprison ourselves. We become bitter, dark, depressed...and just plain unpleasant to be around!
So how can we love others? And with regards to fellow believers, how can we love them "fervently?" Seems like too high of a task for me.
It is. I couldn't do it on my own. Yet through the empowering of the Holy Spirit I can. The motivation? It comes from the verse preceding the one telling us to love "fervently."
1 Peter 1:21- Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
The gospel!!! Jesus Christ died for me and rose from the grave...conquering death. And since the gospel IS a reality...I can strive to love authentically--fervently. My sins which were many...are forgiven. And if Christ did that for me...I can love. Love Him and love others. I love because He first loved me...and gave Himself for me.
Speaking of loving the brothers fervently...who can't love this guy and what he did a few seconds before this photo? Anyone remember what happened and when this photo was taken?
Lots of love, Steve. We miss ya.
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