Fervently love one another from the heart.
1 Peter 1:22
Bruce Alvord: Grace Bible Seminary | Ukraine
Far and away the favorite sport of most Ukrainians is soccer. I love it, too, and played goalie as a youth. The only way to be decent at this position is to fling your body farther and stretch your appendages longer than is normally natural for a human being. It’s that kind of strenuous, full-out, leave-nothing-on-the-field effort that Peter is talking about in this verse. Are you expending great effort to minister to your spouse, children, parents, teammates, etc.? The word describing how we should love each other is “fervently,” which means “to stretch out.” Like a goalie who flings himself wildly to the side and stretches to block the last-minute shot and save the game, so too our love should involve an all-out, intense strain. It denotes a willingness to sacrifice our own desires, comforts, and conveniences in order to accomplish what love would do for others. How is your game? Are you expending great effort to minister to your spouse, children, parents, teammates, etc.? Or are you just standing between the goalposts, not wanting to get your uniform dirty or a scrape on your elbow? The Lord highly prizes fervent love, and His “well done” will make all the glory associated with winning the World Cup look like an old, crumpled Dixie cup in comparison.
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