1 Peter 1:22-25 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

Can you purify yourself? I know I can’t! And even though Peter mentions that here, he is not referring to our own efforts. Our obedience to God does not make us acceptable to Him. We’d like to think that is the case. It is the way things normally work in this world. But we can’t do that. I think the context tells us that Peter is rereferring to Baptism as the means of our purification, because he says that we have been “born again.” That happens by the power of God’s Word through the waters of Baptism.

Loving others deeply is mentioned more than once in Scripture. It is talking about our actions, implying that this will take effort on our part. But rather than this being the reason we are purified, it is the response to knowing that we have been purified by the blood of Jesus.

Who are the ones you are to love? Does this love extend to people outside the household of faith? Maybe you should consider the example of Jesus. Who did He love? That most familiar of verses tells us that “God so loved THE WORLD. Who do you love?

When Peter tells us about the “living and enduring Word of God” and “the word of the Lord stands forever” I am reminded of this passage:

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

God’s Word, both Law and Gospel, needs to penetrate our lives. We need the message of our own inadequacies and of God’s all-encompassing grace and mercy shown to us in Jesus. This is the word that was preached to you.