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Abounding Love

             And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, (Philippians 1:9-10)

As I read these verses this morning, I wondered why Paul didn’t write “love may abound more and more in wisdom…”  or perhaps “in knowledge and wisdom…” Doesn’t wisdom consist of knowledge, depth of insight, and discernment? Paul uses “wise” and “wisdom” in letters to other churches, why not in the letter to the Philippians? And the answer is… I don’t know.

I did a little research. Paul wrote to three churches in Greece: Corinth, Philippi, and Thessalonica. He used the word wisdom 17 times and the word wise 12 times in his two letters to Corinth, but not at all in the letters to Philippi or Thessalonica. Looking through the uses of the terms in the letters to the Corinthians, he tends to scorn wisdom. Given the Greek fascination with philosophy (which means “love of wisdom” after all,) the choice not to refer to wisdom or to dismiss it as a central theme was probably deliberate. Using the word would likely have taken them on a rabbit trail that was likely to never end.

Let’s get off of that rabbit trail and follow the trail Paul did follow. His prayer was that they would love. That was the focus. That love was to exist in large amounts due to knowledge and depth of insight, also known as wisdom. Wisdom is vital to love, but the focus is on loving others, not on knowledge or understanding. Wisdom is useless it is connected to love. But at the same time, love that doesn’t abound in wise action isn’t love.

The reason we should want our love to abound in knowledge and depth of insight is so we may discern what is best. Love is seeking to do what is best for the beloved, which takes knowledge and insight. The result of doing what is best for the beloved is being pure and blameless. It’s all tied together. Love needs wisdom, which together result in doing what is best, with the consequence of being blameless.

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