As you listened to that story from 1 Chronicles, did you wonder if David's mighty Three were upset that their hard-won water from the well at Bethlehem was not drunk by David, but poured out on the ground?

There was David – weary and dispirited probably – very thirsty in the heat of summer – and wishing he was back in the days when he could just walk into town and drink freely from that well. Now the town was in enemy hands. And because David was a guerrilla chieftain and his men outlaws – his life was circumscribed. Anointed to be the future king – yet seeing no end in sight to King Saul's reign – with its tyranny, and jealous attacks on David and his men. David needed encouragement. So his three friends gave him the best gift they could – the loyal devotion of their lives.

But David must have seen it as something more – God's encouragement and love, lifting him up. Whatever response David might give to the men's love – David's response to God's love must come first. The water had become sacred – men had put their lives in jeopardy for him – so the water had taken on the character of blood, which no man might drink.

Like the blood of sacrifices, it belonged to the Lord – and David poured it out to him, whom he loved and served. David couldn't separate the sacred from the secular, as we usually do. What happened to him in daily life belonged with his worship of the Lord. Isn't that much better? For our daily lives must be lived in God's presence, quite as much as in our time of worship here on Sundays.

As we progress through Peter's letter to young Christians, we have been seeing his emphasis on our response to God's love for us. A response to be seen in changed lives – lives of obedience, lives of growing likeness to him – holy lives. Let's listen again to his words:

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 for ever." (Isa 40:6-8) And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like new-born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 1:22 – 2:3)

1. Loving our brothers & sisters in Christ.

Here the first emphasis is upon our changed lives – showing deep genuine love – especially to our fellow-Christians – our brothers and sisters in Christ. Exactly the same emphasis comes across in that reading from John's letter – unless we love our brothers and sisters, we are not children of God – We know we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. (1 John 3:10,14) So often we experience God's love to us through others – and that's how we are to respond to him – by loving the fellow-members of his family.

I expect all of us at some time have been stung by a wasp or bee. If you were stung on the arm, what did you do? Ignore it? No! I expect your head registered pain – and your mouth voiced it! Your fingers plucked out the sting, your mouth sucked out the venom, and you felt affected throughout your body.

But is that how I feel and act when a fellow-member of Christ's body is suffering some misfortune? Will I lovingly put myself out for him or her, because he or she is in pain and need? Jesus, our Head, registers that pain – but we, who are other limbs – will we move in response? Or will we just express 'sympathy'? In a moment I'll give examples of the kind of help we all can get involved in.

Peter isn't suggesting we behave as if we were brothers and sisters – but as being brothers and sisters. For that is what we are. If we are Christ's, we've all been born again through God's initiative and action. We all owe our life to him! In a new and vital way he has become our Father – the Father of us all. Therefore we are brothers and sisters – members of the same family sharing a common life – owing dependence, honour and obedience to the same Father. And we all look to share the same glorious inheritance.

(a) Hindrances.

What is there then, to hinder our loving each other? Sadly, there is much to hinder – from our own sinful natures. Peter says these hindrances must go, if we are really to love one another.

Malice – the wish for someone's downfall, discomfort and harm. Is it possible for us to have such an attitude to each other? We may disguise such thoughts, even from ourselves. That's why Peter says, with all deceit, with acts of hypocrisy [the word is plural]... Like actors, we play a part, and say nice things to their face, but something different behind their backs.

...Acts of envy: We want what they've got – perhaps tasks and responsibilities we think should be ours – or perhaps the freedom from such tasks! Or we envy their gifts, and wish we had them.

Finally Peter adds, and slander of every kind. To get our way, to boost our reputation, we spread tales – true, exaggerated or false – it all amounts to the same thing. We exalt ourselves at the expense of others. We show ourselves dissatisfied and critical. We have all done it. But the trouble is – we don't see ourselves in so clear a light. Our talk is given prettier names – and our motives are whitewashed.

Instead we are called to be sincere – literally, not-hypocritical – no acting a part, no words without actions. We are called to love deeply – intensely, that's the strength of the word – from the heart. Perhaps we don't recognise ourselves as malicious, deceitful and envious – but can we see ourselves as half-hearted or even indifferent towards each other? Not perhaps to our particular friends – but to other church-members we've never taken the trouble to get to know ourselves?

If we really cared – wouldn't we enquire, pray, and act practically towards each other – more than we do? If we've natural brothers and sisters – we may be on good or bad terms with them – families differ so. But we know what good brotherly love should be, and what our obligations are. Shouldn't we be prepared to do as much – or more – for those we shall share eternity with?

(b) Being sensitive.

Let's ask the Lord to make us sensitive to each other's needs, and to discover what these are. It might mean – being willing to speak the truth to each other. But don't forget the illustration of the plank in one's own eye and the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye! (Matt 7:3-5) Whatever we say needs to be said with loving sensitivity. Perhaps the first thing will be to ask forgiveness for ourselves – or to make restitution for some past harm we did. (Matt 5:23-24) This isn't easy, is it, if we've neglected to do so for years? Our pride gets in the way! But in Christ's hands our pride must be broken – so that love may be released. (Dan 4:37; 1 Jn 4:7-8)

It may be that brotherly love should be expressed in being willing to receive love rather than shutting love out. Some find that very hard too, but self-sufficiency is another form of pride. It may mean we should no longer pass judgement and be critical of another's efforts – but instead – praise, encourage or help, so as to build him or her up. It may mean spending time with others, giving them help. All in all, it means opening up our lives and sharing ourselves with others in self-forgetfulness – rejoicing with them, crying with them, and upholding them.

(c) Old Testament teaching & practical modern action.

Our motive at all times must come from an awareness of God's love and goodness towards us. What greater love 'from the heart' could there be than God's love to us? He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all! (Rom 8:32) This character of his, God impressed on his people from the beginning, especially in regard to the poor brother, to whom they were to freely lend.. whatever he needs. (Deut 15:7-11)

Many other compassionate commands were given to help the weak and unprotected members of society. You could enter a neighbour's field or vineyard, pluck and eat grain or grapes to satisfy your immediate hunger, but not, of course, deliberately harvest your neighbour's crops! (Deut 23:24-25) And when the land-owner did gather in his harvest he was to leave something for the poor to glean. (Lev 19:9-10) If in his extremity, a poor brother sold himself to you – at the end of his servitude, you were not just to show him the door – you were to give him the means to support himself in the future. (Deut 15:12-15)

The modern equivalent of that is practised today by Barnabas Fund and Tearfund, by meeting the costs, or providing interest-free loans, for small business start-ups. This may take many forms: replacing livestock for drought-stricken Tuareg nomads in Niger; new boats for Christian fishermen in the tsunami-hit Andaman Islands; sewing machines to set up a tailoring business in a Middle Eastern country, for Christians whose poultry business was destroyed by avian flu. If the Lord has blessed you, you can always give money, to assist in just such schemes!

2. The word of God in our own lives.

Now, what else is Peter telling us here? He has much to say about the role of God's word in bringing us to know God and his goodness towards us. The love we have towards our brothers and sisters in Christ arises from God's activity in our lives – our new birth – through his creative, eternal-life-giving word dropped like a seed into our hearts. Our response was that we obeyed the truth that this word conveyed to us – not just a mental assent to the truth of the gospel, but a commitment of our lives to Christ as our Saviour and Lord, that issued in our cleansing (purified), and our new life (born again) – including our love to others. (1 John1:3-6; 3:23)

Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6-8, where it says God's word stands (or endures) for ever. This is in total contrast to the life of all mankind. Physically and morally man is weak and transient as grass, which withers under the Lord's scorching wind [ruach = breath, wind], just as man succumbs to the judgement of the Lord's Spirit [also ruach]. We are 'here today, and dead and gone tomorrow'. But God's word is an eternally living and effective word. (Num 23:19; Psa 33:6,9; 119:89; Matt 5:18; 24:35) Where it is received, it unfailingly brings forth life – generation after generation – because it proceeds from its eternal Author, and bears his character. It endures imperishable.

And since this is the seed that gave us spiritual life – we may be sure that our new life will also endure to eternity, without failing or perishing. Or, as Paul puts it, Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col 3:3-4)

Do you want to know if you have such life? Then, in effect, Peter says, Prove it – by turning from all that contradicts that life – and by turning to what will nourish it, sustain it, and cause it to grow healthily. How can we grow up in this way – to our salvation? We all need to grow spiritually. We all need more of the fruit of the Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23) If we are to be able to lay down our lives for our brothers (John 15:12-13; 1John 3:16) – like David's three friends – then we must grow spiritually.

How? Peter is quite clear. By craving pure, spiritual milk... like newborn babies. Compared to the life of maturity we are to live in heaven – we are all spiritual babies. And like babies we should be desperate to get the milk we need. Only sickly babies are not eager to be fed.

The word translated spiritual [logikon] only occurs in one other place in the New Testament – Romans 12:1 – where it means reasonable or intelligent. It appears then that Peter has mental food in mind. He has just been referring to God's word [logos] – so I don't think there can be any doubt that Peter is saying that what will nourish us, and help us to grow spiritually, is what gave us life in the first place – even God's word.

Are we each eager to grow by this means? We've all seen how eager newborn babies are for their mother's breast! Are we as eager to read God's word, day by day? Of course, it's not the Bible considered just as a book, that we need – but the Lord himself, whom we can meet there, as we read and pray. (Psa 119:2, 10, 18, 58-59, 105, 130) Have we truly tasted that the Lord is good? Then we will want more of him, and of his love!

Peter describes that spiritual milk as pure – literally the opposite of deceitful (v 2:1). God's word is unadulterated truth, that will truly nourish and sustain us, if we receive it with prayer, and the help of the Spirit. (Eph 1:17-18) And through it we may feed on Christ himself, grow and change and become more like him. Only in this way will we grow in that deep, sacrificial love for others that Jesus Christ our Lord has himself shown to us.

                                                                                             Amen.