And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (Philippians 1:9 NKJV).
It is quite revealing that Paul did not stop the above sentence after the words “more and more.” He didn’t say that he was praying simply for our love to increase, but rather that it would increase in knowledge and deep insight. He added this qualifying statement because it is important. Love without knowledge and insight can be extremely dangerous – on both the part of the lover and the loved. It is where the idea comes from that love is blind. And blindness in anything causes us to stumble and even fall at times.
Scripture describes Biblical love perfectly in 1 Corinthians 13:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV).
That’s a tall order. When a spouse is abusing their partner, do we persevere? When a parent grabs an infant out of the crib and shakes the baby until it is brain damaged or dead, do we be patient and kind? When a son or daughter goes off the deep end and is drinking to excess and neglecting his or her family, do we trust and hope that things will get better?
Can you begin to see how devastating love without knowledge and insight can become? While love perseveres, it also protects. While love is patient, the Scripture that tells us we are to confront sin also informs it to not sit idly by. While love is kind, it also takes into consideration the path of righteousness we are told to walk and does not compromise. While love trusts and hopes, it also prays and helps, not leaving a situation to its own demise.
There are quite a few people who believe that because God is love, He would never allow anyone to go to Hell. Their love is uneducated, ignorant, and certainly does not abound in knowledge. God sends no one to hell, but He will not violate our human right to choose sin over Him and it is in that choice that every man and woman determines his or her own destiny. If we choose not to accept the atonement for sin found in Christ alone, then we die in our sin and sin cannot enter Heaven. That does not make God unloving, it makes Him just and fair. His love provided a way of escape, but if we do not understand the Apostle Paul’s call for our love to be informed by knowledge and insight, then we can easily stumble in the dark over this truth.
Today, I will spend time in the presence of Wisdom Himself, Jesus, and seek to have my love increased in the knowledge and insight of God’s truth.
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