Am I Loving
Blindly or With Discernment?
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and
more, with knowledge and all discernment.
Philippians 1:9
A little girl was invited for dinner at
the home of her first-grade friend. The vegetable was buttered broccoli and the
mother asked if she liked it. “Oh, yes,” the child replied politely, “I love
it!”
But when the bowl of broccoli was passed,
she declined to take any. The hostess said, “I thought you said you loved
broccoli.” The girl replied sweetly, “Oh, yes ma’am, I do, but not enough to
eat it!”
We usually say that “Love is blind.” G.K.
Chesterton the English writer says “Love is not blind; that is the last thing
that it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind.”
Does God want a love which is blind? God
says, “No, love needs clear vision.” Our love needs the guidance of knowledge
or else we will end up loving things we ought not to love—and entering into
relationships that are not good for us. While love is supreme, it is never
enough. Love must be guided by true knowledge. This is the burden of Paul’s
prayer.
Christians are to love by knowledge. Love does not occur in a vacuum. Knowledge without love leaves the Christian
spiritually bankrupt, and knowledge puffs up and love builds up, yet love needs
knowledge to learn how to love biblically.
The love for which Paul prays is defined
by the Word of God, bound by the Word of God, and conforms to the love of God
revealed in the Word. It is an
intelligent love.
The word for “knowledge” in the Greek is epiginosko
which means “full, mature knowledge” or “applied knowledge.” It is not head knowledge alone which teaches
us to love; it is applied knowledge. A
Christian studies the Bible and in the Bible, he learns about love, but by
faith he applies the Word to his experience which brings his life into
conformity to the love of God revealed in the Bible.
Love is not a mushy-gushy experience but
it is love which grows from a scriptural foundation. Love must be rooted in truth or it becomes
mere religious sentimentality.
Loving through knowledge and discernment
will allow the Christian to discern what is best or excellent. The word “discern”
actually means “to put to the test for
approval.” As we love others, we are
able to test and approve that which is best in them.
When we really love, we are able to see
the good things in people. We do not
look at them with a critical eye, daring them to prove themselves to us. No, love sees the value, the worth of every
Christian brother or sister. Love
approves what is best in the Christian.
Humorist Sam Levenson says, “Love at first
sight is easy to understand. It’s when two people have been looking at each
other for years that it becomes a miracle” (Reader’s Digest). But it’s not
really a miracle; it’s the result of yielding to God, repeatedly confronting
our selfishness and daily practicing biblical love in our homes.
Let us ask God to
fill us with His knowledge so that we will be able to discern and value the goodness in each and every individual.
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