Scripture: Philippians 1:9
This is my prayer: that your love might become even more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight.
Thought for the Day: It has been said that we were made for love. I would claim that to be true, and even take it a step further, saying that we were made through love for the sake of love. At the same time, life is complicated, and for that reason, loving can be complicated. When life has no stress, we are getting plenty of sleep, and we are not dragging behind us a bunch of unresolved stuff (grief, anger, disappointment, etc.), love probably comes easy for most. But place us in a situation of insecurity because of monetary problems, and then one of the kids gets sick and is keeping us up at night, all of a sudden love does not flow quite as well. Not only are we irritable and cranky, but there is fear brought on by a sense of scarcity. Suddenly we are looking for someone to blame. We find a group of people, who have absolutely no connection to our problems, and we cast all the blame upon them because they cannot defend themselves. We hate them, demonize them, and hold them up as the reason for all our struggles. Both religion and politics have encouraged a blame-game sort of transference as a way of stoking people’s insecurities and fears. It is a great tool for those who are driven by power and greed. When Paul speaks of our love becoming something more through knowledge and insight, I hear someone who is encouraging his readers to go to school for this love thing. Part of what we do in community, of communal worship and study, is doing the necessary “classroom” work so that we can be successful in sharing love when love is not easy to share. We were made through love for the sake of love, but it does require us to attend the school of Agape (Greek word for God’s unconditional love) if we truly desire to be that love day in and day out.
Prayer: I have plenty of stuff to work on! I have places of weakness, especially when I am tired or feeling insecure. For these reasons, I seek your help, Merciful God, and seek the insights of those who journey with me. Let me forever be a student of your love so that when I am tested, I can actually receive a passing grade. Amen.
