Just Reflecting...

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 until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11 (NKJV)

Love - a word that many of us are familiar with, yet how many of us truly understand what it entails? Love is a quality that is widely discussed and mentioned in the Bible and Philippians 1, a prayer made by Apostle Paul, touches on the topic of love once again. He prays for the people of God (the church), that their love would abound more and more. The word 'abound' means to exist in great quantities, to the point of overflowing. We are called to love, indeed, to love in abundance, that our love should be ever-increasing.
However, an interesting point to note is, this love that is to abound more and more needs to be nurtured in knowledge and discernment. We are not only to abound in love but in knowledge and discernment as well. Love is not grown or nurtured in foolishness but it needs to be nourished with knowledge and depth of insight, for that is when it can increase and grow in sincerity. How do i love someone if i'm not aware of that person's likes and dislikes, temperament and happenings? How can i love in sincerity and with understanding when i'm not able to discern the truth? How can i help someone if i do not know what situation or difficulty they are in?
Yet, the source of love is God. If we are to learn to love in abundance, we need to learn to draw upon God's unending love. Dear Lord, as Your love touches our hearts, may we use this love of Yours to touch the lives and hearts of others around us. Amen