Formed in Jesus to Love



1 Peter 1:3-5, 22-25
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 22Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 2but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

If this verse doesn’t blow your mind, nothing will. We all know what it is to be “born” because, well, here we are. Each of you have a birth day. And while you may not remember it (if you do, please contact me and let me know about that!) the fact that you are here, reading this, proves you had a birth day. But in the passage, Peter boldly uses the words “born again”. If you take the Greek phrase and break it apart, you find it literally says, “cause again to be born”.

As we examine this “born again” miracle, we see that we are not the authors of this rebirth. Nicodemus questions Jesus about his ability to climb back into his mother’s womb. That would require his action and is, of course, ridiculous. But this is where the miraculous hand of God comes into action. We are not responsible for our rebirth any more than we are responsible for our physical birth. We are reborn when the Holy Spirit brings us to faith – either by the Word and/or by Baptism. And that rebirth demands action – we are to love one another.

That sounds easy, right? But if given just a few moments of self-examination, we realize it is far from easy. How good are you at actually loving other people? What does that love look like in your every-day life? Or is it just a matter of lip service to an idea? Maybe those questions don’t haunt you, but they do me. When honest, I must admit that my love is often shallow and frequently self-serving. And I’m just enough of a cynic to believe I’m not alone in that attitude. Sin pervades.

But – this passage points to a deeper truth that bring hope and joy. God has caused us to be born again into the saving work of Jesus Christ. My sin-filled attempts at loving others are made new in the blood of Jesus. He brings redemption into every corner of my life and with that redemption comes love – the ability to truly love others with intention and action. My rebirth, brought about by the Holy Spirit serves not only me, but the people around me, for in that rebirth, I am able to act with the pure love of God as my motivation and empowerment. As with all things, to God be the glory!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more