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,

Peter didn’t just write, ‘knowing the truth’, he wrote, ‘obeying the truth’.  The true things Jesus taught us are not just supposed to sound beautiful. It’s always practical with God.

Tonight heading out to a meeting I passed a car that slowed to a stop next to me. The driver leaned over and asked me if she could ask me something. She pointed out that a man at the end of the road maybe wasn’t well, and asked if I could just stick around while she checked the situation out.  I crossed over and headed towards her reversing car. It turned out a man was walking home with heavy bags in this freezing weather, and was near home but struggling to catch his breath. I offered to help him carry them a few yards to his home, an easy thing to do, and smiled at the driver and she left. He turned out to be a lovely, courteous gentleman who really needs to take things easier. I’m going to invite him to our next lunch.

It was lovely to feel that our community can work together and trust each other.  If we all show each other sincere love – ‘love that looks like something’, as Heidi Baker says, the world will be a better place. We each experience ‘the world’ one person at a time.

Let’s treat each other well this week. There are too many people hating others and fearing what other people can do. Some people have a lot of influence, but the things that you or I can do today may have a tremendous impact on one person, more impact for them than whatever headlines they have been reading . Person to person, sincere love.