Pressing on in 1 Peter
Now 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. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower fails, but the word of the Lord endures forever." The word is the good news announced to you. (1:22-25)
What God has said and done in Christ, Jesus, is for the welfare of the community. Now that we are born anew we are brought into this truth about life that is meant to be the truth about our life together. We love one another! Now that we are claimed by this word of truth...this everlasting word...this word that will not perish or fail, we are being instructed to live according to what has been done and said. Obedience to the truth may simply mean that when people see us they see the word alive and when we are a living witness to this love, it will be something that will turn heads because it is out of the ordinary kind of self-centered love.
Connection: Years ago Wendy's made a commercial with the elderly woman who looked at pitiful hamburger and yelled, "Where the beef!" Well, as we look out and see and then listen to the word being offered by the communities of Jesus' followers, be sure to ask "where's the love."
Come, O Lord of Love, and stir up in our hearts the blessed life of your Reign. For when you make your word known to us, we are shaken up to look again at who we are to be as your sons and daughter. Amen.
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