1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly”
It is noteworthy that the command above was given from Peter to Christians who were being severely persecuted. It’s a surprising message in that during times of extreme stress, our thoughts tend to turn inward, rather than outward. Don’t you agree? Isn’t it true that when things aren’t going so well with us our lives become focused on thoughts such as “What is going to happen to me?” or “What am I going to do?” That’s just natural, this response of self-preservation. That’s why it’s so remarkable that Peter tells his listeners that ABOVE ALL they are to love one another, and to do so earnestly. It’s an outward look rather than in inward one. It’s a focus of concern on the needs of others rather than our own needs. It’s the same idea that Paul expressed in the following words recorded in Philippians 2:4: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Notice that Peter adds to his command above the word “earnestly.” Literally, it means “to be stretched.” It carries with it the thought of intentionality. It’s something that doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a purposeful action and it involves self-control, i.e., rather than letting our selfish attitudes and reactions control us, we are to take control of those actions by living like God has told us to rather than how our moods and natural feelings lead.
So, let me ask you, when’s the last time you were actually “stretched” in your love for others? When’s the last time you took time to do something for someone that caused you to go against the flow rather than with it. We get a picture of this in Paul’s description of the Christians in Macedonia in Chapter 8 of his second letter to the church at Corinth: “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.”
Note Paul’s use of the word “earnestly.” While it’s not the same Greek word that Peter used in the verse above, it reflects the same idea. Note how he uses such words as “abundance,” “overflowed,” “generosity,” “beyond their means,” “begging earnestly for the favor of taking part,” and “not as we expected.” And then Paul reflects on the “earnestness” that marked the love of Christ: “I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:8-9).
That’s what differentiates the love of believers for one another; or at least it should. It’s the love demonstrated in Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan. It should go above and beyond the expected response. It’s a love that stretches beyond what people expect that we’ll do. It’s a love that stretches beyond what is the natural extent.
So again, when’s the last time you stretched yourself in love? When’s the last time you went above and beyond to lift someone up? For you see, God’s Word is telling us that it is this that should mark us “above all” things. It’s a love that should continually mark us, for that’s the kind of love for us that marks our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Encourage You 
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