“The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.”
A famous teacher took his oldest son to his new school’s open house. It was designed to introduce the parents to everything their kids would experience in school throughout the coming year. They toured facilities while they heard about curriculum and teaching methods. At the end of the day, there was a closing time with the principle. The famous teacher raised his hand and asked the principle a pointed question: “I’ve seen a lot of your methods,” he said, “but you haven’t told us your goal. What kind of people are you trying to form here?”
The principle of that school didn’t have an answer, but Paul does. The goal of Paul’s instruction is clear: love. But love is a slippery word – it can mean lots of things to lots of people. Paul uses three phrases to clarify where the kind of love that he’s talking about comes from. The first is a pure heart. The heart is the origin point of a person’s motives and desires. A “pure heart” means a heart that gives rise to actions that have only one motive – there is nothing hidden. The second phrase is “a clear conscience.” Love doesn’t come from guilt or shame or pride or envy or deceit. It comes from transparency. Finally love comes from genuine faith – not the kind of faith that just talks confidently, but the kind of faith that acts confidently.
Here is your freedom for today: your life can be filled with love. If you want a life full of love, Paul begins to sketch a road map for you here. Pursue a pure heart. Pursue a clear conscience. Pursue genuine faith. As you seek these three essential ingredients for love, you will find a stream of love pouring not only into your heart, but out of it as well.