Love AND Knowledge: Philippians 1:9

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"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight ..."

- Philippians 1:9

Do you notice how Paul links together "love" with "knowledge" in his prayer for the Philippians?

Our popular, cultural definitions of "love" portray it as something that is purely emotional, squishy and self-centered. This differs radically from what Paul has to say. For him, "love" involves knowledge and finds it's most perfect expression not in self-centeredness, but in self-sacrifice ... when Jesus dies on the cross for us. Paul's writing helps us break the false dichotomy between head and heart.

In light of this idea, what holes would you poke in your own definition of "love"?

What would it look like for your experience and expression of love to grow in knowledge and depth of insight?


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5 Comments

I add my thanks to Bella's, Captain. You should see my messy journal pages!
So here's what I ended up with with morning: It's a wonderful cycle. Jesus loves us with knowledge and depth of insight. We experience, then, being understood, being shown mercy rather than judgement. (Nothing says "love"
much more than being understood, I think.) Then we can extend that to another.
I'm considering that the feeling of love is at least partially a byproduct of
receiving and giving this knowledge and depth of insight.

It goes back to yesterday's "Starting with Jesus keeps everything else in its proper place." We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

Loving people, our children, our friends, the intense joy of hold a newborn baby in your arms, just loving people is wonderful. We want to lay down our lives for those closest to us...but for the whole world? Jesus did that for everyone, every person ever created. I have been heartbroken over loving someone a few times...someone who did not love me back the way I loved them.
Only God's love completely satisfies. It can hurt a lot to love...to expect to be loved back. This is the reason why we need to focus on loving Jesus..to ask Him to help us keep on loving now matter what.

Thanks for this opportunity to delve deeply into our Bibles and hearts! Cinco De Captain, your questions are encouraging me to journal and actually take time and prayer to answer them! Good stuff, indeed! 🏆

Amen....once we're saved and the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us we, instantaneously, have supernatural (agape) love....it is this love that gives us the ability to love the sinner and hate the sin....the ability to love another person without necessarily agreeing with or condoning their actions.

Thank God for agape love!!

good stuff!

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