Philippians 1:9-10

AMP – 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight, 10 so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent [identifying the best, and distinguishing moral differences], and that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead others away from sin];

NRSVUE – 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,

VOICE – 9 Here’s what I pray for you: Father, may their love grow more and more in wisdom and insight – 10 so they will be able to examine and determine the best from everything else. And on the day of the Anointed One, the day of His judgment, let them stand pure and blameless,

The Goal of Love

Paul brought the Philippians needs before God with the confidence that God would continue mature the church. Christian love is to be ever-increasing, for this reflects the true love of Christ. Jesus gave Himself for us, as it shows us the example of how our devotion to God should be and how we must care for each other (self-sacrificially.) The Philippians were called to share the Gospel, and that would strengthen as their love for each other grew. They would see this growth through four things; service, humility, forgiveness, and faithfulness.

Love must be guided through continuously learning and getting to know God, His will for us, and the truth of the gospel message. The gift of discernment allows us to recognize what honors God and what doesn’t based on societal standards. Paul’s view of love would be one that’s sincere, wise, and able to guide holy living.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Based on what we talked about here, what does love look like to you?

Understanding People’s Story

Paul talks about how love shouldn’t be static, but continually grow. We can create a foundational understanding of what love should look like, but it doesn’t mean that it stays there. We tend to view loving our neighbor as a way to help them meet whatever need they have, provide a path that allows them to share any concerns they may feel without judgment, and to fight for their right to have equal right all people deserve. To me, we see this shown throughout Jesus ministry as the core foundational aspects of reflecting God’s grace and mercy. However, for us that can look different person to person. Each of us are created differently, brought up in different ways, and have been taught and conditioned to navigate life in different ways. The highs and lows of that can result through trauma, abuse, neglect, and more. We need to keep these things in mind when we interact with our neighbor to ensure that we’re not crossing a boundary for them. Unfortunately, we may not realize this until we make a mistake. However, this is where our love and be consistently growing and adjusting. The more learn about people’s stories, we can do our own due diligence to learn about different things that they have gone through. The more we do this, the more we can learn how we can navigate the relationships we have with our neighbor. It may take some extra time, energy, and resources on our end, but that how Jesus served – self-sacrificially. To take some intentional time out of our day to figure out how we can care for our neighbor as a creation of God is the ideal that God calls us to live by and should be our ultimate goal to strive for.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Think back to your past conversations recently. What is one thing that someone told you that you didn’t understand and that you should go out and do more research on?

Shifting Perspectives

Renewed minds allow us to understand and anchor to God’s will, especially when the worldly values and pressures are suffocating us. Paul calls for the gift of discernment that shows what is morally excellent, spiritually fruitful, and consistent with the teachings in the Gospel. This type of wisdom grows through studying Scripture, praying to God, following God’s commands, and creating a mature lifestyle in Christ. Paul sees this as guidance for the Philippian church to keep them from errors and guiding them towards God. Believers are also called to have sincere hearts, free from divisions and hypocrisy, and to not use our lives as a measure of success when it comes to harming our neighbor. The righteousness we receive through Christ produces a visible reflection of holiness, love, and faithfulness from God.

Jesus, one day, will return to judge, reward, and complete the true work of salvation for all believers. The certainty of this day can give weight to our decisions today. Paul wants the Philippians to be ready for this day, not out of fear, but from hope in God to complete this good work.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Paul wants his church to lead through renewed minds and integrity. What does this look like in our lives, from both a personal and communal aspect?

Seeking to Understand

When we grow in love and knowledge, it gives us a greater amount of discernment that leads to a life that honors God. As I mentioned earlier, believers are called to study the Scripture and embrace the love that God shares with us. When we devote our studies and lives to Christ’s ministry, we start to discern stronger how we can live according to God’s will versus the desires of the world. These things will feel like its blended, or even the things of the world are blended in positively – describing the desires of this world. This is when God’s gift of discernment is more important than ever. It allow us to help understand the line between what is of God and honoring God and what is doing a disservice to God. We can look it today of: “What are things that love God and neighbor and what are things that the world loves?” Again, these can feel like connecting items, and some things will blend into each other. There are a lot of good things that happen in the world for the benefit of the world. What helps us discern this comes down to why. Why are these things being done? Are they done to help our neighbors or are they done so that we can get recognition? Are they done to allow our neighbors to be heard or are they done to bring us fame and fortune? These types of questions allow us to discern why we do what we do and why others do what they do. These types of questions allow us to hold each other accountable. It doesn’t mean we attack others, belittle others, or gossip about others when we seek answers to these questions, but we approach these questions through healthy communication, intentional listening, and mutual understanding. This is how we find community and unity.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: When we start to dig into why we do what we do, or why others do what they do, do you approach it with love and curiosity or bitterness and judgment?