A Call to Genuine Love (1 Peter 1:22)
“Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual affection, love one another deeply from the heart” (1 Peter 1: 22).
Can you make yourself feel genuine love? Is your heart tender enough to experience true affection? God has put in each of us the drive towards feelings of wellbeing. We are all on a journey toward wholeness and holiness. We know that Peter’s instruction is good, because, experientially, it feels wonderful to love. This is what our souls yearn for: comradery, a sense of belonging, to feel unity in community, to share.
Only through God’s transforming power can we reach this pinnacle. Through “obedience to the truth” we start to make headway. Obedience implies effort; our part in sanctification. We need to guard our minds and souls from deviant distractions.
Our internal state is a trustworthy indicator of our progress. Do we feel angry? Remember, anger is the seed to murder. The vary experience of an angry disposition indicates that something is off; we need to change. Ask God for wisdom, trusting that he “gives generously to all without finding fault” (James 1: 5). If you’re malleable, he will reveal root causes and make sense of the formative experiences that have influenced your life.
Are you lustful? This is the bud of adultery. Internal indicators might include a persistent and irritating rise at physical appearances that destabilize your intent and compromise your ability to minister. My belief is that we cannot adequately tend to others when we possess inappropriate feelings which manifest as a real or imagined design for them. If we allow private thoughts that interfere, fantasies of sorts, we are tempering our ability to succeed in intimate conversations. So, don’t allow your eyes to wander, and your heart to wonder. Foremost, don’t create competition for your spouse through comparisons. If you are mindful and intentional, in time, you just might find the perception that your wife/husband is the most beautiful person on the planet! This is God’s intent; for you to be content with the blessings he has already provided you with.
Are you envious? Do you think that others have something that you lack? Learn to be satisfied with the many things that God has provided for you. Don’t envy anyone. Afterall, if you have developed yourself, if you have cultivated your soul, you are the one who possesses joy!
The list of causes that quell true love go on, “but (God) gives us more grace” (James 4: 6). I am convinced that, had God not revealed himself and his ways to us, we could not know him or what he has in mind for us. Many of the precepts of Jesus’ teachings are not necessarily intuitive. But God did reveal himself in Jesus Christ! He was merciful enough to give us instruction; ways of discovering the most excellent way. So, we aim toward the finer things only to realize that God is indeed good. We feel deep love in our souls, now that we have tasted his blessings; blessings which were always at our disposal, just hidden.
This inspires us and urges us on. We realize that we are on a journey of love. It becomes genuine as we grow in maturity. It becomes more and more persistent with each and every successful interaction. By God, we have been formed into something useful. This love that we now share becomes a pleasing aroma that attracts people, which glorifies God.
What do we learn? God is the potter and we are the clay. As we respond, we become more and more like him. Then, the tending of the details of mind, body, and soul seems more natural, and we become more focused. And we begin to feel genuine love for all people.