1 Peter 1:13-25 (NIV)
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 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.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
Reflection
While walking on a sidewalk, a boy sees a sparkly object behind a picket fence. As he steps closer, it turns out to be a silver dollar – shiny, flashy and just waiting for a boy like him to come pick it up. The gaps between the pickets are just wide enough for his arm to squeeze through. In his first reach, his fingertips are within inches of the coin. For his next try, he extends his arm further and feels it, but it’s not enough to grab it. Determined and serious, he now flattens out his body on the sidewalk, presses his face up against the fence and stretches his arm as far as possible. With all of his might, he finally takes hold of the coin in triumph.
The word “deeply” originated from a verb “to stretch out the hand.” Just as the boy stretched out his hand to grab the shiny coin, we are to stretch out our hands and “love one another deeply from the heart.” To love deeply is to fervently and earnestly extend our lives beyond ourselves. To love from the heart is to stretch out with a pure heart for others.
Response
God spoke His enduring words and stretched out His arms to save us through His Son. Because of His deep love for us, we can have this kind of deep love for others. Today, let’s love deeply and stretch out with our hearts in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Ecclesia Paris and Ecclesia New York. Pray that they will love deeply and reach out to those who need to receive God’s enduring word.