How do you love? If you are a Christian, I know you love others because you cannot be a Christian without doing so. The truth is, however, many Christians have an inadequate love. This is because their love lacks knowledge. Paul, being aware of this, prayed that saints would not only love others but have the proper kind of love.
Philippians 1:9-10 (ESV)
9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
What kind of love did Paul want these saints to have? Was it an ignorant type of love? No! Was it mere blind affection? Were they to love anything and everything indiscriminately? No! Paul prayed that they would have a knowledgeable love. They were to abound in love, but they were to love intelligently. Love is not to be a wild emotional surge. Proper love is guided by an accurate perception of spiritual things.
Why does Paul want these Christians to have intelligent love? It is so they might love what is really worth loving, and that their love might manifest itself properly. In ver. 9 Paul said he wanted their love to abound not only in knowledge, but also “in all judgment.” In ver. 10 he said, “That ye may approve things that are excellent…” The word judgment means “the power to discern.” Paul’s point is that we must learn to discern between what is good and bad, or even between what is good and what is better, or even best. We should always as Christians be able to tell the difference between good and evil, and then, based on our knowledgeable love, attach ourselves to the right things, i.e., we will approve the things that are excellent.
Paul’s words are still very much applicable to us today. We must not only love, but we must love right. It must begin by having an acceptable amount of knowledge so that we can discern between right and wrong and always choose right (Hebrews 5:12-14).
Having a discerning love is knowing what to love. As Christians, we should love what God loves. The implication of that is that we should also hate what God hates. While God is certainly identified as a God of love in the Bible, we must recognize that there are some things that God hates. If we love what God hates, we do not have a knowledgeable and intelligent love. So, what is it that God hates? We all know what it is—God hates sin! If there is one truth that is spoken throughout the Bible, it is the truth that God is a hater of sin, and if God hates sin, we must hate it as well (Proverbs 6:16-19).
Whatever God hates, He loves the opposite. God hates sin, so we know that He loves righteousness. God hates pride, so we know that He loves humility. God hates the sowing of discord, so we know He loves peacemaking. God hates every false way, so we know He loves truth. Let us all love what God loves and hate what God hates. Let’s cherish things that are excellent in the eyes of God, demonstrating that we not only love but that we love with knowledge.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things