Now Love

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. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1: 22-25

The outcome to obedience to the truth found in scriptures is Love. Peter describes this as a “now” moment. Have you had a now moment? Have you had a moment in which love for all men has consumed your heart? If you have to qualify this statement you do not have scriptural love. If your love is only directed toward those that love you, you have not had a ‘now’ moment. Luke 6:32 reads, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them”
The loss of the ability to love was not one of the consequences of the fall. It has been retained in the human family and is the greatest evidence that we are made in the image of God. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Plato said, “At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” Mohandas Gandhi, “Where there is love there is life. “ Confucius said, “To love a thing means wanting it to live.” Plato and Gandhi and Confucius were not Christians. However, they all knew something about the fallen nature of man, Confucius understanding is reflected in his proverb, “It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

Plato, Gandhi, and Confucius did a hard thing. They reflected and grew in ‘now’ love. Confucius also claimed that to truly understand anything you have to do it. These men were not “born again of imperishable seed through the enduring word of God” but came to their knowledge of Love through the examination of the conscience and their observance of the nature of life and men. How much more shall we who have the indwelling to the Holy Spirit in our live in ‘sincere’ and ‘now’.

Peter uses action verbs to describe the process of being able to ‘sincerely love’. He speaks of purifying and obeying the truth. The truth of love is not relativistic but it is universal. The scriptures tell us that observers of our conduct will know that we are Christians “by our love” Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Gandhi saw a disconnection between the teaching of Christ and the lives of those who claimed his name. There was no ‘love connection’ in his observation.

GK Chesterton a Christian apologist, and author from the early 20th century said "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." Part of the reason for this is confronted by Peter quote on the brevity of life. “All people are like grass” That is why we need “now” love. We cannot put this issue aside for one more day. We must determine to follow the course of love immediately and without delay. We must throw off every hindrance to it. Many of us our living like we have an eternity of tomorrows. Mosses us admonishes us to number our days. They are short, but the “word of God endures forever” and so does our Love if it is lived out in a Christ like manner.