So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. (Philippians 1:9 MSG)
Last week I wrote about how this verse along with another are a couple of reasons that I have had a joyful marriage for the last 32 years – not only loving much but loving well. I have been coming back to this verse for the last week or so and pondering the phase “that you will not only love much but well.” As I’ve shared these verses in a number of devotionals this past week I have been drawn to the idea of loving well. As Christ-followers “love” should be a key part of our DNA. My fear is that our concept of love has been diluted by the over use of the word “love” itself.
Last week I wrote about how this verse along with another are a couple of reasons that I have had a joyful marriage for the last 32 years – not only loving much but loving well. I have been coming back to this verse for the last week or so and pondering the phase “that you will not only love much but well.” As I’ve shared these verses in a number of devotionals this past week I have been drawn to the idea of loving well. As Christ-followers “love” should be a key part of our DNA. My fear is that our concept of love has been diluted by the over use of the word “love” itself.
In some ways, at least with some words, I think the english langue is to vague. I love pizza, I love my iPad, I love my house, I love my spouse, and I love my kids. It’s the same word but context gives it a different meaning (at least I hope it does) in each of these cases. I love my spouse differently than I love my kids, thought they are all loved differently than how I love my iPad, house, or pizza.
Jesus, in response to a question from a religious leader about “What is the greatest commandment?” responded:
Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.” (Matthew 22:37-40 MSG)
Love God with all you have and love others as yourself. That’s it. Go do it. Love a lot, but not only that love well. Really, this is what I have been dwelling on. How do I love God well? How do I love others well? You see I don’t think it is as much about the quantity of love we give (as long as we are giving some) as it is about the quality of love we give. Shallow meaningless “love” heaped upon God or others is not what Jesus or Paul was talking about.
Love that is given in order to get something is not loving well. Love that is conditional is not loving well. Love that is given out of some sort of obligation is not loving well. Loving well looks sacrificial, honest, humble, honoring, and boundless. Loving well means spending time with the other, listening to the other, just being with the other. In 1 John 4 we see that the love we give is in response to the fact that “he (God) first loved us.”
There are two questions I want you to reflect on and if you want respond to:
- How are you at fulfilling the commands for Matthew 22 about loving God and loving others?
- How do you go about loving God and loving others well?