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‘And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.’ (Philippians 1:9-11)
Love is a word that has become confused and distorted. For many, it means doing what you feel passionate about until you stop feeling passionate about it. The idea of love being a choice to sacrificially serve has been lost, and such an idea may even be scorned.
Take a moment to recall a really bad decision that you have made in the past. What advice would you give your past self? Have you become the kind of person who would take that advice?
Paul prays that their love would abound in ‘knowledge’. Our love must be informed by knowledge of God and His will as revealed in the Bible. God is most clearly revealed in Jesus, and we must come to know Him, His teachings, His lifestyle, His death for sinners… and ensure that the way that we love conforms to this.
Paul could say,
‘God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.’ (1:8)
He could say this because he had knowledge of the affection of Jesus and was praying for and seeking to mirror this in the way that he loved.
RESPONSE
All of our reading of the bible is a study in who God. Our knowledge of God informs how we are to live a life of love. Perhaps it would be helpful to spend some time meditating on God’s love from Romans 5:8.
‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Romans 5:8)
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