Growing love...

"And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment."

Philippians 1:9

Continuing with our exposition of love as a fruit of the Spirit, we need to look into what happens when love grows. And we need to examine what can happen in the reverse, when there is an atrophy of love.

Paul tells the church at Philippi that he wants their love to grow... and he says that to us today, as well. If our purpose were simply to develop something and then sit stagnant and never increase, we would be no better than the simple and non-sentient animals some folks have as pets. But we are not pets. We have the ability to adapt and overcome and improve on all things... especially ourselves!

To grow in every kind of knowledge, though, means that you would have to also grow in the knowledge of what happens when there is a vacuum left by an absence of love. The obvious answer is that an absence of love is where apathy and hatred come from. This is true, but since love is of God, its absence is painful, too. And that pain is real, and it is noticeable to all who endure it.

The good news is that the absence, in order for it to become hatred and full-blown uncaring, would have to be cultivated into such a thing. And if we, as Christians, take the initiative to show love as God instructs us to do, we should be able to cultivate and maintain something else entirely: caring, empathetic, loving brothers and sisters in Christ!

Today, think about how you are growing your love. Are you stretching your limits, like you would if you were working a muscle? Are you pushing farther and farther outside your comfort zone, so that all people will know you as a disciple of Christ? We all should be! So take a moment now to read 1 Peter 4:8 (where our next post will come from) and see how you measure up. It humbles me, as I know I am not there yet... but with God on our side, we have all of Heaven to support us in any task!

God bless you all!!!