Love Abounding - Phil 1:9

This morning I am reading out of Philippians.

(NIV)Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, [10] so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, [11] filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ---to the glory and praise of God.

Its interesting that abounding love, overflowing love, an abundance of love, is connected with knowledge and depth of insight in our faith. The Greek word for knowledge is Epignosis - meaning precise and correct knowledge of things ethical and divine. Clearly here Paul is talking about divine things - namely a knowledge of God and His ways. Depth of insight is more correctly defined as discernment and perception.

So if we take this and simplify - Paul's prayer is that our love for God drives us to understand Him more and discern His ways so much that this overflows out of us. This enables us to understand what is best, choose that, and as a result live pure and blameless. Of course, much of the purity and blamelessness is the result of the atonement and being hidden in Christ, not something we attain through our own works. But this diving into God, through love will help us uncover this reality, and live as if its true, which it certainly is. As we pursue God, through love, our lives will be filled with the fruit of Christ's righteousness, which ultimately is our salvation and redemption, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

I think also that Paul was talking about their love for one another as well, as in the next chapter Paul is encouraging unity through love and humility. Learning to lay down lives, care for one another, and pursue a life in Christ. That as we pursue God, a natural outflow from this is a love for one another, for we cannot become followers of Christ and not become like Him.

Amen Lord, let our love abound in knowledge and discernment so that we see the fruits of righteousness filling our lives.