Purified your souls in obeying the truth

1 Peter
{1:22} Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently

Obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren.
See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.

Obeying the truth through the Spirit.

How? Unto unfeigned love of the brethren.

Love one another with a pure heart fervently.

Love.

1 John
{5:1} Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
{5:2} By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

Luke
{10:25} And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
{10:26} He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
{10:27} And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy
mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
{10:28} And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

1 John
{4:7} Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
{4:8} He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
{4:9} In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
{4:10} Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.
{4:11} Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
{4:12} No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
{4:13} Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
{4:14} And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [to be] the Saviour of the world.
{4:15} Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
{4:16} And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
{4:17} Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
{4:18} There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
{4:19} We love him, because he first loved us.
{4:20} If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
{4:21} And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.


What do you suppose would happen if suddenly there was no profit at all in being a doctor? No profit. What if being a doctor earned you about as much as your average grocery clerk? Stay with me here this is all hypothetical and we're not going to get into the cost of education and all that. Right now, all the doctors in the world have been forgiven all their educational debts so that's not an issue, neither is malpractice insurance, that's all gone too. They have no extraordinary debts or costs to pay out, no more than your average grocery clerk. How many people do you suppose would become doctors if there were no money in it? If it weren't for the prestige and wealth? How many?

It's easy to see today when you're shoved into a waiting room packed with people and have to wait hours just to get shoved into another room alone to wait some more. And then the doctor comes in and spends more time fiddling with their little computer looking at your records and fussing about than they do looking at you. Oh yes, it's easy to see that hurrying up and trying to diagnose you, the answer a pill or two, a blood test or four, a urine test here and a x-ray there, lets just see what's what as quick as possible there are many more cattle needing herded through the place before the day is over. Are we even real to these people? Maybe I'm being harsh, or maybe not harsh enough. All I know is it makes me wonder how many people go into the physician field solely for monetary reasons and in truth they care very little about the people they'll be treating.

Loving your brother.
Love meaning caring more for them than yourself.

How often does that happen?

I saw evidence of it not too long ago when my daughter who has a bad back and numerous health issues started pushing the car of a stranded woman to help her out. I was floored. I was a little angry too, how dare she do such a thing, didn't she know she could really hurt herself! She obviously felt helping the stranded woman was more important than worrying about her health. Stupid? I want to think so, but in truth isn't that what's important? Helping others and not caring about yourself?

Thought of self comes first- how does *this situation* effect me? Will I like this? Will it be an inconvenience to me? Do I have other plans? What's this to me? Self first and if all is satisfactory there then maybe I can think of someone else.

God help me. God help us. Love has nothing to do with self. Nothing. Love has everything to do with others. Everything.

Love God. Love others.

No commandment to love yourself.

That ol' love others as yourself, doesn't mean loving yourself, it means love others as YOU would want to be loved. If we had to love ourselves and love others that way it would only be an obstacle especially for those that concentrate on loving themselves first before they love others, there is nothing selfless in loving yourself. No, I'm not saying hate yourself. I'm saying self is important truly only in the sense that we do all we can to remain healthy and such so that we may respect our lives because God loves us and would have us love others. We're not here on earth to serve ourselves, but to serve God and others.


Mark
{8:35} For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

John
{15:9} As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
{15:10} If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
{15:11} These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full.
{15:12} This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
{15:13} Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
{15:14} Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command

1 John

{3:16} Hereby perceive we the love [of God,] because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.
{3:17} But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
{3:18} My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
{3:19} And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him

Amen.