“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” – Philippians 1:9
One of the best ways to show that we are Christians is through the love we show other people. As Christians, we must really be careful on how to show our love and what kind of love we show towards people. Not because we are pretentious, but because we are the ambassadors of Christ and it is very important for us to show His love towards other people through our lives. Now, one of the great examples of people showing the love of Christ is the Philippians. So, Paul in our verse today, wrote them a letter telling them that his prayer for them was to have their love abound more and more in knowledge and deep insight.
The love that Paul was referring to here was not the kind of love that is selfish. He was referring to the love that is called “agape” which means unconditional love. This verse is a prayer for them, but also an acknowledgment of how they are so faithful in showing the love of Christ towards other people through their personal lives. So, Paul prayed for them and at the same time encouraged them that their love will abound more, and will grow more. It is the right love because they were showing the love that God has first shown us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now, as people of God who are already saved through grace like the Philippians, may our love also abound. We must learn how to love our neighbors right and we must learn to know how to show the love of Christ through our lives. Let us put the selfish love that we knew in the past and now we must learn to love each other unconditionally. A love that is full of knowledge is a love that is filled with the love of Christ. We cannot love if we are not filled with Christ’s love first. So, we must always assess ourselves and let the love of Christ fill us through reading His Word and meditating on it day and night.
Therefore, let us always put in our minds that this prayer that Paul wrote to the Philippians is a prayer for all of us. In the next verse, we will see the reason why Paul told them that he prayed that their love will abound so that they will be able to discern what is best and pure for the day of Christ. Meaning, when Christ will come back, we will stand before Him, knowing that our lives are bound in Him and that we have loved everyone just as how He loved us. Thus, let us always keep in our minds that we are all under the grace and love of God, and we are ought and called to manifest His love and become His good witnesses.
