Fervently

 "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."

— 1 Peter 1:22

Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King,

When I choose to obey the truth—no longer living in ignorance (vs. 14), or living the empty way of life (vs. 18), but living as an obedient child who wants to please their Heavenly Father (vs. 14)—I am purified. That means I am made clean, I am sanctified. The pollution that's settled upon my soul gets washed out and filtered away. Merely reading God's Word—the Truth—won't do that. I must obey God's Word. Reading and obeying the truth is what purifies me.

The result of this purified heart is a capacity to love others. The quality of this love for others is twofold: sincere and fervent. Sincere love is unfeigned, undisguised, without hypocrisy. It is genuine and authentic. There is nothing fake or pretend about it. This love for others is also fervent. To love one another deeply from the heart means to love fervently, earnestly, intensely. The word comes from the verb meaning "to stretch out, to stretch forth" like stretching out or extending the hand. Jesus, you loved in this way when You stretched out your hand toward the leper saying, "Be clean" (Matthew 8:3). You loved this way when you stretched out your hand to take hold of Peter when he began to sink amid the wind and the waves (Matthew 14:31). Fervent love is a love that stretches toward others.

Lord Jesus, today I choose to obey Your truth so that my heart is purified from the stain and stink of the world and my flesh. May this purified heart result in a renewed and increased capacity to love others sincerely and fervently. When opportunities arise today to stretch toward others with love, may I be unhindered, unfeigned, and undisguised. May Your love for me overflow and stretch toward others.

— In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

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