Knowing

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge . . . (Philippians 1:9 ESV)

What does love mean and what is the right way to love? More importantly, who is it we are to love?

When Paul says that he prays for them that their love will abound more and more, he prays that this love will be a knowledgeable love. But about what kind of knowledge is he speaking? Is it a knowledge that comes from deductive reasoning or a memorization of facts? Is it a scientific knowledge? Or is it an experiential knowledge--one that comes from knowing a person or a place?

The Greek word is gnosis and the knowledge he speaks of is an experiential one. So Paul's prayer is that their love will abound more and more through knowing in an experiential way. But whom is to be the object of such an abounding love? To find an answer we would do well to go to Christ and see what he has said on the matter, this because Paul has already addressed himself as a slave (doulos) to Christ earlier in the letter.

We find this in Mark's Gospel, chapter 12:

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 ESV)

So which commandment is the most important of all? The most important is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. If this is the greatest commandment then this is of primary importance to the Philippians (and to us). So when Paul prays for them that their love would abound more and more with all knowledge, knowing that that knowledge is an experiential knowledge tells us that Paul is praying for them to know God more in an experiential way.

To know Him is to love Him.

The more we know of God, the more we will love him. True, this includes a knowledge of facts about him. How could it not? But this knowledge cannot be merely academic. It is a knowledge developed by experience. If we are to know him, we must try him. We must trust him. We must daily taste and see that he is good. This kind of knowledge comes both from walking with him in the Bible and in prayer and also from walking with him daily through life, trusting him, trying him, seeing if his words and ways are true. It comes from worship, both corporate and private. It comes from confession of sin and confession of faith. It comes from knowing him.

Do you know him? The more you know him the more you will love him, the more your love will abound. Today, make Paul's prayer your own. Pray that God will teach you to know him better and to love him more. This love will carry you through all the trials of life. This love will choose your path for you, every step. This love will change you forever.