1 Peter 1:22
"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart."
Do you really love others as yourself? Are you able to get beyond personality clashes, value differences, and even personal attacks? Would you say that you easily love others as Christ loved us?
Even as a pastor, I struggle to love others. Like most, I have no trouble loving myself and family, nor trouble in liking those who fill my life with the things I value, but when it comes to saying I sincerely love all within the church, I still struggle. The truth is, most believers face this same struggle. We know we're supposed to love others, but know in our hearts we fall short of this mandate.
Peter tells us that a root cause of this struggle to love is continued impurity within our lives. When we are not living singularly unto the Lord, mixing our lives with sins, the result is impurity. Inwardly, we have impure hearts, but outwardly, we struggle to love others as Christ first loved us.
If you struggle as I do, Peter points us to the purifying presence of the Spirit. Simply, when we obey the law which lives within every believer according to the Spirit's presence, we'll be freed from any mixture of sin. The result will be a heart free to love people according the Lord's love.
Until we allow the Spirit to wipe away sin, we'll continue to struggle to love others, no matter how hard we give it a try. So, if you're serious about following the Lord's command to give away his love, first within the church and then to a dying world, turn to the Spirit and ask God to give you strength to live an obedient life, free from sin's powers.
The purity which follows will give you room to love others as Christ.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for the promise of the Spirit's presence, freeing our lives from sin, wiping away impurities so that we can love others. Amen.
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