Moving From the Shallow End to the Deep End of Love
I have been thinking about love lately. I have situations in my life that have caused me to pause, check my heart and ask God to reveal its true attitude! God’s sanctification opens our eyes to see where we fall short and gives the grace and instruction to know how to respond through repentance and change.
Is your love shallow or robust? Is your love proved by its actions or just words? There is always room for growth and by the grace and love of God our love can move from shallow to deep, even bottomless, if cultivated by the living and active word of God.
Growing the Fruit of Righteousness Through Jesus Christ.
Paul knew the believers in Philippi had a true love from God and for God in their hearts. Philippians 1:11-having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Their love did not prove fruitless but fruitful. How? It showed up with joy even in suffering and it manifested itself through their giving.
Their love was not a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, as described in 1 Corinthians 13:1. It was genuine. But it could still grow more and more! So can ours!
Shallow Love Lacks Knowledge and Discernment
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and discernment,
Having already been filled with the fruit of righteousness, Paul still prays for the love in the heart of the believers to abound, to overflow, and never become stagnant or fill to the top and stop. For this to become a reality, we must cultivate it through biblical knowledge, truth, and discernment.
Love Without Biblical knowledge can lead to that noisy gong or clanging cymbal talked about in 1 Corinthians 13:1. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:6, love rejoices with the truth. Accompanied with truth and faith love seeks the welfare of others and gives praise to the glory of God.
Love without truth, biblical truth, does not know how to rejoice in the truth of the gospel nor the goodness and faithfulness of Christ. Love could be wearing a mask, masquerading and seeking its own benefit. God tells us through the Apostle Paul that true love does not seek its own. 1 corinthians 13:5. Paul also tells us, “Let love be without hypocrisy.” Romans 12:9.
Aim to Grow Deep Abundant Love
so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ,
Deep, abundant love is selfless and sacrificial, showing concerns that benefit others. It is a strong love filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ and grows more and more so that it can approve or learn to know what is excellent and of real value for self and others to the praise and glory of God.
A cultured love results in sincerity and confidence on the day Jesus returns. It has matured through the Scriptures’ teachings and actively obeys what it learns.
Faith and love walk together arm in arm. You cannot separate them. If you do, you are left with a shallow, sentimental love that operates out of feelings and not out of true biblical knowledge, which informs and directs biblical love or God’s perfect love. Our love will never be perfect on this side of heaven, but it can be more than shallow and abound more and more, as the Apostle Paul proclaims.
How do we know if our love is real? Open the word of God and let His word shine a light into your heart! Seek biblical truth with a sincere heart.
Learn more About Growing in Your Love in Our Inductive Bible Study in Philippians
