by Luke Fletcher
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 until the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11
Ignorance is not bliss. In fact, I was quite surprised to see an emphasis on increasing knowledge, and that by doing this I can show my devotion to my Lord and Saviour. Enhancing my understanding and appreciating his works, his words and his mysteries is not an obligation, but a outworking of my love. Yet I am faced with a challenge in this information age to pursue the knowledge of God. Growing in ‘knowledge’ just doesn’t happen, neither does ‘depth of insight’. In fact the Greek phrase aijsqhvsei indicates an intellectual understanding that affects one’s moral and ethical judgement. In other words the knowledge I gain in my head must progress and inform my heart. To gain a love that “is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush” (The Message) means I need to read things that challenge me, issues that confront my heart and life. The mystery is that because it is a prayer that Paul prays, there must be some corresponding involvement by the Spirit. Yet, the biggest challenge I, and others with a disposition like me, face with this verse is to not pursue knowledge for knowledge’s sake, (1 Corinthians 8:1 warns us of the dangers here). I need perspective on what really matters – that’s why the reference to “day of Christ” needs to be the lens through which I gain (and apply!!) all “knowledge and depth of insight”. Only then will the information, facts and knowledge penetrate my heart enabling me to cooperate with the Spirit as he produces “the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.”
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