Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, 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. (1 Peter 1:22-23, NIV)
I had the opportunity this past month to visit some of my golfing friends out in California. I enjoyed my time there, as I renewed past relationships and was certainly struck by the ease of that process. It seemed as if no time had passed and we took up where we had left off. Golfers are like that. We speak a common language and have had a common experience. That experience knows no time or distance. It is what binds us together.
Believers in Jesus experience the same thing. There is no time or distance between those who trust in Jesus. Our common faith binds us together as part of the family of God. We also speak a common language and have had a common experience. To be part of the family of God does have an entrance requirement. We become part of the family when we trust in Jesus and become alive to God.
Our hearts long for connection. We find it when we are adopted into God’s family.In a world that seems almost totally disconnected, God offers us a chance to be part of his family. This is a big deal because it means we will never be alone again. God invites us into his family to enjoy him and all those who believe in Jesus as friends and brothers and sisters. Our hearts long for connection. We find it when we are adopted into God’s family.
The apostle Peter encourages us to sincerely love our Christian brothers and sisters deeply and from the heart. What does that kind love look like? It looks like the love of God because it comes from him. His kind of love sees us worthy of love even though we are not. His kind of love does not judge us but helps us to be better. His kind of love expects the best of us and forgives the worst we can do. His kind of love wills that we become all that we are called to become. His kind of love picks us up when we fall. His kind of love mourns with us when we are sad and rejoices when we are joyful.
The fellowship of believers with God and other believers is God’s answer to our loneliness and despair. We are not alone and will never be again. Believing in Jesus gives us an eternal life with an eternal family that begins right here on earth. Go out and love one of your brothers or sisters today with God’s kind of love. It is out of this love for other believers that we most clearly demonstrate the love of God to those in the world who do not yet believe.
—
Linda Ballard
March 5, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.