yeah, not like that

 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, Phillippians 1:9-10 NIV

You know that love feeling, that reckless abandon, I don’t care what anyone thinks about anything, ‘but I love them’ kind of feeling. The way two people get when they first meet and fall head over heels for each other….  yeah, not like that….that’s not the kind of love we’re talking about today.

God tells us to grow in love, but not in reckless, irresponsible, jump off a bridge love. Paul explains that while that kind of love for God is good (and needed), we need more.  Our love should grow in knowledge, in the structural foundation that is God. It is this love, the love more of a long-time marriage than that of new-found lovers, that we can count on, especially when things get hard.

We’re asked to find that deep-rooted connection with God, the kind that grows over time; the kind that get stronger the longer we’re in it. This, Paul says, is how we stay grounded to the truth when flimsy, idealistic nonsense is thrown our way. It is in this concrete love that we are able to weather the storm. This love is how we remain pure until Christ comes for us.

Even in Paul’s opening remarks Lord, you show me the difference between fleeting feelings and true, long-lasting love. You teach me how to hold onto and to trust, because it’s is you I trust. Every day Lord, I pray that I grow closer to you.