The purpose of purification is to increase our love for one another. God is love, and that is how He wants His people to be known. In order for that to happen, our hearts must be purified of selfish motives, greed, and corruption.
One primary way God continually speaks to us is through our circumstances. It took me many years to figure that out. When events weren’t going as I wanted, I resisted and fought them. I expected my life to be free from trouble until I realized that suffering was one of the best tools God has to conform me to His plan for my life.
God provides the context for our growth, but our hearts are only purified when we submit to God’s ways and obey the teachings of Christ. Every trial, test, and challenge we face happens for our training, discipline, and education with the purpose and objective of transforming us into the person God wants us to be.
Paul told Timothy, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). Peter is also telling us this in the passage above. Loving God and loving others is how we demonstrate to others that we are following Jesus Christ.