The Thing About Love
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
— Philippians 1:9
Here is the thing about love. You can't sit around and wait for the feeling of love. Don't wait to feel love. Just start doing loving things.
In 1 Corinthians 13 when Paul gave the classic definition of love, he didn't talk so much about what love is as much as he talked about what love does: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged" (verses 4–5).
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Some people keep a record of everything. They'll say, "I remember when you said that hurtful thing twenty years ago."
"Really?"
"Yes, I do."
You know what? They need to let that go. It's time for them to forgive.
One of the things Paul prayed for the Philippian believers was that their love would continue to grow. He wrote, "I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding" (verse 9). Paul wasn't talking about a sentimental love here. Rather, this is a love based on a knowledge of God's Word.
Jesus said, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13:35).
And John reminds us, "If someone says, 'I love God,' but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?" (1 John 4:20).
So don't talk about how much you love God if you hate someone else. That is not acceptable. If you are a true follower of Jesus, then your life will be characterized by love.
