Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Abounding Love

"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;" (Phil. 1:9)

Many churches and religious leaders and even young people have sacrificed their convictions and standards of separation on the altar of love. In the name of love, they call for the walls of 'doctrinal separation' to come down. For youngsters, they easily mistake lust for love. For many professing Christians, it could be that messages about Hell are unloving. How far is that from the kind of love that God wants us to have. Love that is not guarded by knowledge and judgment is not spiritual. Thankfully the Bible is exact about how we should develop our love. It should 'abound more and more in knowledge...' Knowledge of who God is, what He says (the Bible), what He is like, and what He desires. I think of the 'social gospel' movements, when I think of love without knowledge. The problem with it is superimposing physical needs over their spiritual needs. When I think of love without "judgment" or discernment, I think of religious movements like neo-evangelicalism, or doctrinal beliefs such as 'easy prayerism.' The latter stems from an intense love to see souls saved, but it is not rooted in discernment. And God will have none of it.
We can praise the Lord however, that He has given us everything so that we may be able to have a love that progressively abounds in knowledge and judgment.

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