Key Verse:
Philippians 1:9: “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding,” (NLT).

Christian call in the scriptures is a call to love. Why is it important to love? Going through the Bible, the believers are frequently called to love.

Not only that, when the character of our God is described, we are frequently told that God is love. When Jesus was asked what the great commandment is, He responded: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets,” (Matthew 22:36-40). In the Apostle Paul’s section of thanksgiving and expression of joy for the Philippian Christians, he said, it is his prayer that their “love may abound more and more.” Paul in other words was saying that we should increase in love more and more. Love does not happen to you. To love is a decision. We must make a decision in our hearts to love.

Love is not merely a feeling that we have for others, but a decision and choice that we make in our minds and hearts. Love is a work in progress. It is a decision to love God; love one another; love our spouses; love our children; love our neighbours and even love our enemies.

Love expands and grows as we make the decision to act in the interests of God and in the interests of one another. Love must be purposeful and directed. Paul prayed that our love should grow and overflow with knowledge and discernment. Love must be guided and directed by discerning wisdom. Love does not exclude our mind. Love is not blind. Love is not foolish. Love is wise and discerning. Love for others must be based on the love of God and not devoid of moral discernment. We should love within scriptural limits set by God. We do not just love without discernment, which is what the world wants.

We cannot claim as believers that we love God without showing love for the human beings that we see. Any professed love for God that does not find expression in love for others is hypocrisy. If you do not love other Christians you do not love God, no matter how loudly you may insist that you do (1 John 5:1).

God wants to see our love both for God and humanity increase, deepen and intensify. We should never reach a point in our relationship with one another where we feel satisfied and content and think that we have done enough. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 3:12: “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you.” God must be present and prior, working in our hearts to make us increase in love. If love were entirely within our power to produce, why would Paul have bothered in praying for it? If love is an easy thing, why is there hatred even among believers? We need to ask God to work in our hearts and give us the grace to increase in love. The word “abound” perisseuo – (perisseuw) in the present tense is progressive and it expresses the idea of continuing, overflowing and abounding love. Our love should overflow the banks of our heart and life.

• Today’s nugget: Make a decision to love. Prayer: Increase my capacity to love. Prayer lines: 08033299824.E-mail: [email protected]. Rev. Abel Ukachi Amadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria