In chapter 1 verse 10, Peter referred to Christians as ‘my brothers and sisters’. Jesus said, ‘Whoever does what God desires is my brother and sister and mother’ (Mark 3:35). This does not refer to a physical family. Christians are part of God’s family. God is our father. John said that whoever loves God should also love his brother (1 John 4:21). Christians are all different ages. They come from different nations with different customs. They *worship God in different ways. But that should not affect the way that Christians behave towards each other. They must be loyal and kind to the other members of God’s family.

‘Love’. This translates a special *Greek word. This word describes the pure way that God loves us. God always gives people more than they deserve. God’s gifts are for all people whether they are good or bad. He sends the sun and the rain on both the good and the bad people (Matthew 5:43-48). God loves Christians. But he also loves people who are not Christians. God loves his enemies as much as he loves his friends. Therefore, God loves everyone. He always does what is best for each person. Paul says that we ‘build up’ people when we love them (1 Corinthians 8:1). This makes them strong. This is the purpose of all the qualities in verses 5-7.

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