" Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently ... Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned"
(1 Peter 1:22, 1 Timothy 1:5)
Introduction
The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 14:17 that "The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." We could call righteousness the meat for the soul, while peace and joy may be its drink. A part of this meat is faith and love.
The Secret of Love
We think of Christian love as an emotion, but in reality it is a solid and practical aspect of our lives. How is it possible to have true Christian love? The secret lies with those who have a pure heart.
Love toward God and our fellow man, pure and unadulterated, cannot proceed from the one who is bitter and unforgiving. Just as you cannot put new wine into old bottles without bursting the skins, or sew a new patch on old cloth without making the tear worse, so you cannot add heavenly love to ragged garments of unrighteousness. The soul must be clothed with the robe of holiness.
Yearn for such Love
Do we really desire to love out of a pure heart? Almost all believers desire
purity of heart. We may sing, "Create in me a clean heart, O God" (Psalm 51:1), but do we really want Him to do it?
"Love out of a pure heart." Is there any greater way of describing what ought to be the character of the child of God? It is this we should seek daily, and with all of our heart, soul, and strength. We should not rest until we are overflowing with such love as this.
Conclusion
Try as we may, we will never manifest this virtue until we walk in holiness and purity of heart. It is God's will to fill us with the power to love. The fervent love which Paul encourages us to have can only be experienced by those who are sanctified. If we seek it we will surely find it.