There has been so much going on these last few weeks. I have been to grad parties and weddings for members of New Life, and last week we had the City Retreat. Sometimes the Lord gives us a little glimpse of the fruitfulness of a lifestyle of community.

1 Peter 1:22 says, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

Walking in the truth of God’s grace causes us to love those in the church sincerely. But in this passage, Peter exhorts the church to love one another deeply, from the heart. To move from sincerity to depth of heart.

That takes effort and intention. Love from the heart comes with a cost: the cost of learning to love brothers and sisters who are different from us; the cost of hearing the weight of others’ challenges, even when we have our own to carry. Sometimes, in the busyness of life, all we can see is the cost.

But sometimes we get a glimpse of the fruit.

It is the fruit of regularly saying or doing something to serve a brother or sister in Christ. It is the fruit of showing up, listening, praying, celebrating, and carrying burdens together. And the fruit of loving one another deeply from the heart has power, the power to transform Ann Arbor.

Let’s keep paying the cost by the Spirit he has given us.

Rick Keith, on Behalf of the Elder and Minister Team