Proper Love Comes Through Knowledge

The Philippian Church seems to be one of those churches that you would want to be in.  In Paul's letter to that church, he has nothing but good things to say and is encouraged by the faith of the people.  These are a people that cause joy to rise up in Paul!  That's the kind of church I would love to be a part of, but they certainly were not perfect.  What do you say to a church where the people seem to "get it"?  How about encouragement to keep on doing the things they have been doing!  In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul writes:

"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."
Philippians 1:9-10

What I find interesting about Paul's prayer is his connection between knowledge, insight, and love.  Today when we think of love we tend to think of how we feel about a person.  We have grown to understand love as a feeling that we have and act upon.  Is that what love is?  That kind of love doesn't make sense to me in life nor do I find that definition of love in the Scriptures.  I find love to be a choice!  Love is doing what is best for other people!  It is having their best interest in mind and acting accordingly.  I choose do act in love toward another person or toward God.  Certainly Jesus knows what it's like to do something that was in the best interest of others when the cost of that action was not desirable.  Love is a choice based on knowledge and depth of insight.  If you are going to love someone well, it requires knowledge and wisdom.  You need to discern what is best in any situation and act accordingly... this is love!
So I would challenge you to be a thinking person and determine what is best through knowledge and insight so that you can make effective love choices!  

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