Love Greatly || Philippians 1:9-10 || Weekend Wind-Down #22

Welcome to the twenty-second week of “Weekend Wind-Down.” This series is where we take the verse of the day, look at the face value interpretation, check the background and context of the verse, do a deeper dive on the focus scripture, and figure out what we can walk away with. 

Today’s verse is Philippians 1:9-10, which says this: 

9 – I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 

10 – For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day Christ returns.

Face Value

The way to live a more Christlike life is to love intensely, focusing on the knowledge and understanding of things. 

Background

Paul wrote this letter to thank the Philippians for the gift they had sent and to strengthen them by showing that true joy comes from Jesus alone. Paul’s talking about how there is joy in suffering here. Paul wrote this letter from prison but radiates joy consistently due to his relationship with Christ.

Deep Dive

One of the best ways to share God’s love with others is to pray for them. Paul hoped the church would unite in love, resulting in greater knowledge of Jesus and deeper understanding. Their love shouldn’t come from their feelings but from what Christ had done for them. 

Paul wanted them to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad. We should pray for moral discernment to help keep Christ’s perspective at the forefront of our minds about the things that matter. Consistently choosing the best course of action will come with great benefits for us and those around us. 

1 Thessalonians 3:12 says: 

12 – And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.

If we are full of God’s love, it will overflow to others. It must be active and persistently shown to them. It should also continuously grow. 

Romans 12:2 says: 

2 – Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

It is possible to avoid most worldly customs and still be proud, covetous, selfish, stubborn, and arrogant. We are transformed when the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects our minds. 

Take-Home Point

We should share our love in overabundance with others. This love will come from our knowledge of Christ and a deep understanding of his Word. It’s NOT based on our feelings. 

We should also keep working to have the perspectives of Christ at the forefront of our minds at all times and in all situations. We should also consistently pray to have this moral discernment in our minds. 

The commonality between these two points shown in our focus scripture is prayer. I mentioned earlier how prayer is one of those ways how we can share God’s love with others. The prayers we share about others should come from a place of overflow and intense passion. Paul mentions in the Thessalonians passage how our love towards others should “grow and overflow” as Paul’s love for this church overflows. It’s a passionate love that comes with genuine care and a hopeful attitude. 

Regarding knowing right and wrong, our foundation should only be Christ. It’s easy to look at different parts of the world and see how they deal with right and wrong, but it may not be in a way that honors God. Praying for this discernment is a way to see what is right vs. what is truly right. The Holy Spirit can and will renew our minds, reeducates us, and redirects our thoughts and actions in a way that honors God. 

Thank you for joining me for this Weekend Wind-Down as we explored how to love greatly based on Paul’s teaching in Philippians. Stay tuned for the next reflection. Let me close out with prayer. 

Dear God, thank you for the power of prayer. Thank you for the example of sharing your holy love with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us learn how to share your love with the world. Help us to pray for your moral discernment as we navigate the rights and wrongs of life. It’s in your name we pray. Amen.