Dear Faith Family,

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, 1 Peter 4:8a.

My wife had retired for the night when our middle child threatened her sleep with a cry from his crib.  “Maybe he’ll go back to sleep,” I thought to myself as I watched a basketball game on the TV.

He didn’t. 

I was faced with a dilemma.  The nursery was right next to the master bedroom.  I, on the other hand was farther from the nursery in the living room.  I knew that if my wife woke up to the cries of our son and discovered that I was already awake…hummmmm, let’s think about it…that might not end well. 

So, down the hall I did go.  And, scoop up my son, I did.  Off we headed into the living room to watch basketball.  He wasn’t too interested in the game.  I rocked him.  It wasn’t long before his eyes began to roll back behind his eyelids.  Soon he would be fast asleep.  I decided to give him a little more time and then back to his crib.

As I looked at my precious little boy a thought entered my head.  “Soon he will be 15 and he’ll want nothing to do with snuggling in my lap.  You’re staying right here with me.”  The privilege of loving my son is a memory that I don’t regret.  It has been good company these 28 years.

Keep loving one another.  Don’t stop.  At the end of that command, Peter added the word "earnestly".  That word literally means to stretch out.  Keep on loving one another.  Stretch out your love for one another.

Think about it.  The coronavirus affords us the opportunity to be obedient, to stretch out our love for one another.  The very nature of love is self-sacrificial.  It may mean comfort zone abandonment.  It may mean sacrificing what you want for another member of your family.  It could even cost you your favorite show!

Will you recognize the opportunity to keep loving one another?  Will you seek the help of the One who is love, 1 John 4:8? 

Who will you love today?

In His love,
Pastor Karl