22 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. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,

“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

1 Peter 1:22-25

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Peter’s admonition to those in exile was straight forward, love each other deeply.

It’s even doubly important for us because we’re not feeling the persecution. We live in relatively free times, so our love should be apparent to those in the Church and those outside the church.

• We shouldn’t be taking each other to court
• We shouldn’t be blasting our Gospel music in the parks in the hopes that others will appreciate what we love
• We should be asking our neighbors how we can help and pray for them.
• We should be helping those on the streets in dire situations.
• We should be helping the widows and orphans.

These are just a few ways to express love for those inside and outside the church.

In other words, if we can’t love others when it’s easy, what will we do when it’s impossible to love them?