Bulletin Articles
2 Peter Series: Love
To sum up and end our 2 Peter article series, Peter begins this letter by reminding Christians that they are not missing anything they need to lead godly lives. Never forget. we are fully equipped to lead the life God has called us to. We should strive to add Christ’s goodness and other powerful qualities to our lives and growing in these qualities leads to a productive, effective life of knowing the Lord.
Here, Peter concludes a list of character qualities begun in verse 6 with the pinnacle: love. God is love, and the goodness of Jesus was motivated both by His love for the Father and His love for us. Peter's term for "love" here comes from the Greek word agape, which refers to a selfless, sacrificial concern for the good of others. To get a real picture of this agape love the Bible has many passages:
- Romans 5:8- But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- John 3:16- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- John 15:13- Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
- Romans 5:5- And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
- 1 John 3:16- This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
- 1 John 4:10- This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
It makes sense, then, that our ultimate reason to do good is the same self–sacrificing love that Christ showed for us. God sent His Son to die a horrible death because He loves us. Jesus gave His body and His blood because He loves us. We should count it as a command and blessing to love one another the way Jesus loves us. We will never understand or reach those depths, but we must try our very best.
Love one another.
