Joyful Living Devotional - Day 5

Day 5 – What Really Matters

Philippians 1:9-10(NLT) I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

Paul continues his prayer for the Philippians, saying he prays that their love will overflow more and more. The NIV translation says: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” Love that doesn’t stay the same but grows as we grow in knowledge, understanding, and deep insight. Herein lies our dilemma. Because we have heard so much about love, we think we know all there is to know about it. Love becomes tedious, boring, routine, so we think, “I am all stocked up on love!” Especially for believers, there is a tendency to become self-righteous in our love instead of self-sacrificial.

Paul has been on the receiving end of the Philippian church’s acts of love, yet he still prays for them to overflow more and more in Christ’s love. He prays for their love to increase in knowledge and insight. Knowledge can do one of two things: it can puff you up in pride, or stir you into sacrificial action on behalf of others. Just like Paul admonishes the Corinthian church when He wrote: “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that ‘We all possess knowledge.’ But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” (1 Cor 8:1 NIV)  You can have the right doctrine and the right ecclesiastical belief system and still miss out on God’s best because you lack an understanding of how to love people.

To love others the way God loves us is to have insight and understanding from the Holy Spirit on what really matters. Do you know what truly matters? Love matters, people matter, you matter! We need to grow in knowledge and understanding, but knowledge without love can lead to arrogance. Likewise, it is impossible to develop an understanding without growing in love. We limit our potential when our focus is mainly on acquiring knowledge and seeking understanding, instead of overflowing with love! 

When we understand what truly matters and who truly matters, it enables us to live pure and blameless lives. True joy can only be found in a complete abandonment to the love of Christ. The knowledge of His love for us and for others stirs within us an affection so deep, so pure, and so willing to sacrifice that it transforms unholy people, who only have regard for self, into holy people who place others before self. Oh, that we may run into Christ’s loving embrace so we could turn around and embrace others who desperately need to know that Jesus loves them.

“If the Christian would act on the principle of pure love, he would work no ill toward his neighbor, and if his love toward God were perfect, he would perfectly serve God. Love therefore is a standard which is higher than law, fulfilling the law, and accomplishing through the Spirit what the law could not.” - John F. Walvoord

We must desire to be so filled with the love of God that our love and Christ’s love become indistinguishable. We love others not merely because we will to love them, but because we are baptized in the love of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Love is not merely a position we take or something we practice, it is who we are. We know that people matter! They matter to God, and they should matter to us. So, we open our hearts to learn to love others and to gain insight into how to love each individual God’s way, not ours.

1 John 3:16(NIV) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Prayer:

• What stands in the way of you loving others the way you should? Ask the Holy Spirit to cause you to see who truly matters and what truly matters. 
• Pray for a change in approach towards others and ask for forgiveness if necessary.
• Pray that you may grow and overflow with God’s love, especially toward those you find difficult to love. Think of a specific person and sincerely bring their needs before the Lord.
• Ask the Holy Spirit for insight and understanding so that you may love those around you with Christ’s love, and then act on it.
• With whom could you share today about the love of Christ? Will you?