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,
Philippians 1:9-10 NIV
The Context:
Paul writes to the church in Philippi, and he starts with clarity on the audience: God's holy people, and the overseers and deacons. These people had made an impression on the heart of Paul. Their commitment, devotion and service to the ministry of Paul, and the love and affection they had for one another was evident in their daily dealings. For Paul to have documented this, you know it had to be close to the genuine article. Guess the first question is: can another person be so confident of my commitment, devotion and service in this way? Can anyone vouch for the sincere of my inner conviction? I am not advocating that I must impress you; I believe that the outward manifestation of my inner conviction is the loudest testament to my stand in God.
And Paul kept praying for this church. Actually, he prayed for all the churches he had a hand in starting or which he visited, but the love of this church stood out. However, I note that Paul did not just celebrate this love; he prayed that it would grow. Never assume that something good will remain good, with no effort from you; everything that will turn out good requires vigilance, caution, nurture and attention. That is why an enemy can sow tares while men slept. You cannot go to sleep because you have done a good work; you have to keep walking and working.
The Message:
Love can grow. In fact, love is expected to grow. Anything that does not grow starts to die. Whatever you do not nurture will be malnourished. How does love grow or better still, in what ground can love best thrive? Today's extract makes it clear: knowledge and depth of insight. What you know and how you apply is very important, as knowledge just for its own sake is of no use. Men go to school for knowledge, but it does no good if it is not applied to improve society. Both knowledge and insight are important in this journey, because when I have known what is good, having the right mind as to how this will make everyone and everything around me better becomes the complete package.
And the end of the knowledge and insight is quite instructive: so that I can discern what is best, which is for this earthly phase, and also be pure and blameless for the day of Christ which is coming at the end of the earthly phase. All that I am asked to get has an impact on both the earthly and the eternal. God does not seek to only change me temporarily, or make me relevant only on earth, but to take me all the way to eternal life. Of what use is knowledge that does not end up where God is? Of what use is knowledge and insight that don't translate to a relationship with God?
The Response:
I have to know God, know his love, mercy, grace and favour as well as His judgment, and then I must grow in that knowledge. Knowing God means knowing his will, embracing and submitting to Him. It means accepting His authority over my life and letting Him work in me, so that His work can be evident upon my life. I can't pick and choose what makes me comfortable and complacent; the whole will of God will have hard moments, when things will not go according to plan, but a life that has embraced the love of God sees Him in all the experiences.
I must not labour only for the temporal but also for the eternal. If I know God, that knowledge is good both for the present and future. The day of Christ is coming; God's Word already tells us it will be a terrible day for those who don't know Christ. This is why knowing God's love is key: in that knowledge is life. By that knowledge, I come to the realisation that if not for the gift of Christ, I would have been lost forever. It makes me humble, and pushes me to keep seeking to know more about this God. I pray the same words of Paul here, but I make it a personal prayer for myself. There is no point if I pray it for you and it makes no impact on me. It will be a lost life that only points people to the love of God, but is not going with God into eternity. May my life not be a waste. His time of favour is here.
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