increase in love
Paul’s hope and prayer is that
the Lord will work so as to cause the Thessalonians to increase and abound in
love to one another. Why?
______________________________________________________________
So
that our
hearts will become established in His goodness and holiness—so that we will not be ashamed when we
are face to face with Jesus. Does Paul’s
prayer cover it in such a way that the Thessalonians don’t really have to do
anything except sit back and watch God cause their love to increase? The Scriptures put way too much
responsibility on us to think it is an entirely passive experience. How does this increase come about? ______________________________________________________________
It is often in the context of relationships that we
see God’s goodness reflected. It is also
in the context of relationships that we recognize our own weaknesses, and the
weaknesses of others. In the context of
relationships we discover not only the sins and faults of others, but our own
as well. Relationships can reflect what
is deep in the heart, and hard relationships sometimes reveal the most!
Choosing to grow in love means at least three things:
1. Confronting sin in my own heart
2. Sacrificing my selfish
interests and desires for the sake of others
3. Putting off, concerning your
former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts,
and being renewed in the spirit of your mind, and putting on the new man which
was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph.
4:22-24)
How, specifically can we do
these things and increase in love?
Asking ourselves a few questions is a great way to get started:
1. Are there things in my life that are
preventing me from loving God and others well? --Do I want to grow enough that I will
address those things?
2. What is the loving thing to do (in a particular
situation)?
3. How can I best love God in this situation?
4. How can I best love others in this situation?
We grow in love in the context
of relationship, with the elements of need and time: work, play, trials, suffering, rejoicing, … We
will not be truly established as blameless and holy in Christ without an
increase and abounding experience of his love in and through us. Are we willing to cooperate with the Holy
Spirit so that our love will increase and abound?
Read
and Pray: Psalm
119:9, Philippians 1:9-11, 1 Peter 1:22 & 3:8-9, Colossian 3:12-14
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