There is a transition in 1st Peter from faith to hope to love. Our faith results in hope, that hope and faith results in an outworking of love to others. Revelation (faith) always requires a response (hope and love). To Love means to be loving in our actions, speech and attitudes.
- Definition: "earnest"
Serious in intention, serious in purpose, serious in effort, to be sincerely zealous
showing depth and sincerity of feeling.
Fell seriousness as of intention or purpose - Synonyms: ardently, diligently, energetically, strenuously, intensely, intensively, painstakingly, throroughly, entirely
- The Greek word earnestly could be translated as: Strongly, deeply felt and fervent
This word is only used two more times in the New Testament:
In the Garden of Gethsemane: Jesus prayed earnestly
Peter was in prison: the people made earnest prayer- then the angel released him
Questions to think about:
Are you earnest enough?
Are you ardently (diligently) loving your family, who are Christians?
Children, do you intensely love your mom and dad who are Christians?
Parents, do we painstakingly love our children?
Do we entirely love our spouse/ friends or is our love conditional?
How is our earnestness? Is it enough?
Are we diligent with our Christian friends?
Are we energetic and strenuous enough in our love for those in our caregroup? If friends and caregroup don’t go together, then we are not earnest enough. It is not about others – this is about ourselves and whether we are earnest enough.
Are we intensively loving those in our local church?
Are we painstakingly and unwaveringly loving our Christian “enemies” – even though they are our brothers and our sisters?
So, with that in mind, what's the importance of "being earnest"?
Part of it is this ... revelation requires a response. If I'm not earnestly loving those who God has placed around me, then that shows some other serious issues. If I'm not painstakingly seeking to serve, then I must question why the glorious revelation does not affect my steps. If I'm being unmerciful, maybe I should stop and look at the log in my own eye. If my actions don't show love, can I truly say that I do? Love is not a feeling based on common understandings and goals - it is sacrificial - look no further than the cross.
I think that often in my life, I only tend to repent of as Jim called them "sins of commission" and I negelect the "sins of ommission." It's obvious that if/when I lie, I should confess. But when I fail to serve (fail to love), my response should be the same. I should be as brokenhearted and convicted over not loving my friends as I am when I deceive them.
We don’t have to be permanently dysfunctional because of our past. Even though everything in my heart condemns me, God is greater! "Woe is me" in Scripture leads to change, not a self-pity standstill.
What is the solution to all of this discouragement? verse 22 “obedience to the truth”. Our response to the gospel is because of our transformation by the gospel (we are to love one another earnestly). “Since you have been born again” – this is our hope for obedience in loving one another. Our hope is that our seed will not go away – the seed of the gospel, that will grow in us, is an imperishable seed, that will not go away, that will not perish – the gospel is alive and active and it abides in us – the new life we have been given will never be destroyed, it will never fade or fail – the seed is imperishable.
Because of who we already are, we are to act this way – loving one another earnestly – and our confidence begins and ends in the hope of the gospel. This command is not meant to be burdensome. Love one another earnestly is impossible but if we have faith in Jesus, we can do it through the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes - it is the only hope for change.
We have been born again and because we’ve been born again, we are to obey and we can only obey because of the gospel, resting in the gospel. The gospel is the power and motivation for all obedience. It is our example, our motive and the power for everything that we need. The gospel is the Word of God, all that we need for life and godliness.
Looks like we're back to the 2 answers: the gospel and pride. how do I love? by repenting of my pride / seflishness / etc. not by an "I'll do better" attitude, rather by repentence and dependence on the gospel. My hope for love is the gospel. The importance of being earnest is because my life is a picture of the gospel. By being earnest, I display grace and Christ's love to others.
by the way, if you look closely at the picture, you will find one guy confessing sin and the other sitting across the table just smiling. =)