Scripture:
Philippians 1:9–11
9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. (NRSVUE)
Observation:
Early in his letter, Paul tells his beloved church in Philippi what he is praying for them. What he prays is significant. He wants their love to overflow, and not just once, but more and more. This overflowing love is accompanied by “knowledge and full insight,” not so that they will simply become smarter people, but so that they will have discernment and be able to determine “what really matters.”
This overflowing love will continue to form these believers so that they may be “pure and blameless” in the day of Christ. Their lives will produce a “harvest of righteousness.” Notice, this is not a self-generated righteousness, but one that comes through Jesus Christ, the Source. And when the flow comes from the Source, all the praise and glory are given to God.
Application:
Just this last week we’ve been reading about the children of Israel in the wilderness. There is the story of Moses striking the rock when he should have commanded the rock to yield its water. This was a problem because God wanted His holiness to be revealed to His people.
The scene is different now for the people in Philippi. Jesus has come, the Holy Spirit has been poured out, and God’s people are invited to participate in the very life and love of God. What once seemed like hardened hearts can become places from which living water flows.
As people in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, the holy love of God is at work within us. But listen carefully to what Paul is praying: this love is to overflow more and more. There is no sense that we’ve received all the love we need and can simply live off yesterday’s supply. We remain dependent upon the Source, continually receiving and participating in the holy love of God until that love overflows from our lives.
This kind of love is accompanied by knowledge and insight that helps us become discerning in our daily lives. It helps us determine what really matters!
And once you’ve gotten into that stream and tasted those waters, you begin to discover that what really matters is our participation in the life of God. Everything else pales in comparison.
That’s easier for me to write than it is for me to live out. If you’re like me, life gets really busy, and simply making it through the ordinary activities of life can become all-consuming. But even the ordinary things of life need that fresh wellspring of overflowing love to help us discern where we ought to spend our time and energy.
And it’s often in those ordinary moments that overflowing love becomes visible to the world around us. We begin to respond in ways that go beyond what we could manufacture on our own. The harvest of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ.
And God gets the glory.
The holiness of God is revealed to the world through a people whose lives overflow with His love.
Prayer:
Lord, may my love overflow more and more. Give me knowledge and insight to discern what really matters. I want to know You more and participate more deeply in Your life and love. May the fruit of my life come through Jesus Christ, and may You receive the glory for all that You want to do in and through Your servant. Amen.
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