A knowledgable love

Friends,

A child loves innocently. It is all heart ... no head. There is no real thinking about their love, they just do it. It is beautiful and precious and wonderful.

Yet there is something missing, isn't there? An adult's love is richer, more complex and more substantive. Yes, there is an emotional component, but it is strengthened by a thoughtful, even rational component. In its full expression, love is willful, possessing the benefit of judgment, maturity, experience and balance.

Philippians 1:9 [NKJV]
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment

In this verse, Paul is encouraging Christians to grow in love. It is evidence that we are becoming more Christ-like.

Jesus loved the Father.
His love was deep and genuine at every level.

He certainly had affection for the Father. He had a childlike adoration of His Father. He had a deep intimacy with the Father, too. He had a mature companionship with the Father. He had an unshakable friendship with the Father.

These are not the attributes of a shallow, purely emotional love. Rather these are the characteristics of a mature and enduring and reasoned love. Such a love is impossible without a knowledge of the beloved.

The question today is this. How well do you know the LORD?
Not how much do you know about Him, or how long have you known Him.

How well do you know the LORD?

Be encouraged, Jose

Towards perfection

Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) and He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:9-16 (NKJV)

Your stand must not be a wishy washy one, neither must you be sorry for what you believe in. The plans of men are dubiously cunning. They will shade the truth and embellish lies and deceit, and re-package it as the truth. The purposes and mission of God are clear and simple. To grow, strengthen and empower the body of believers and their influence while here. But the Lord is also quick to give us a heads up about the schemes and trickery of men. Hence in a continuously hostile world, he that stands must stand firm lest he be tossed around like chaff by the influences of the world.

Abilities and talents for the work of ministry, edifying the body of Christ, coming to the fullness of knowledge of Him and that level of perfection must be our driving motivation. When we are driven by these, we are anchored to God's purpose and will never be a victim of the adversary's schemes and device to steal, kill and destroy us and our treasures.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi