I have a friend from college who recently gave me an old 3D printer. He helped me set it up and showed me how to use it, so I was excited to start creating things with it. My goal was to print useful things and design them myself if possible. I made a few things but quickly ran out of ideas, so I turned to the people around me. I asked my family if there was anything I could print for them, and they gave me some ideas that I gladly made. Since I had been given such a nice gift, I was happy to use it to give to others and pay it forward.
At the core of who God is and what He has done for us is love. Since we have received the great gift of God’s love, we should be eager to show love to the people around us. The gift of salvation is not meant to stop with us but to be shared with the world. Building off of the foundation of salvation, 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 shows us how God’s love is at work both in and through all believers.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation- 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. – 1 Peter 1:22-2:3
1. God’s love has given us eternal hope
As Christians, we have been born again through the living word of God. This word is the message of God’s love and grace on display in the death and resurrection of Christ. This love lasts forever, so we can have eternal hope in our new life.
2. God’s love creates in us a deep internal affection for others
Loving others is a direct result of our salvation. Being born again changes our identity and our deepest desires to conform to Christ. When God’s love defines who we are, we will naturally want others to know the same great love.
3. God’s love is externally evident to others in our lives
God’s pure love cannot coexist with evil or hatred. Sharing His love requires putting away sin and taking on righteousness. Other people will notice a difference in you when your life is truly changed by the love of God.
God’s love is not passive in our lives. It changes our identity and shapes the way we live. If we truly know the power and goodness of the love we have received, we will be eager to pay it forward.