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ALWAYS ABOUNDING
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22
1 Thessalonians 4:10

Philippians 3:12-14

 

“…we beseech you, brethren,

that ye increase more and more.”

 

ALWAYS ABOUNDING
 
Paul had commended the Thessalonians for their love a number of times throughout this epistle. In the introduction, he gave thanks to God, remembering their “labour of love” (1 Thess 1:3) and exemplary example to the saints in Macedonia and Achaia. Then in chapter 3, Timothy’s report of them highlighted good tidings of their faith and charity (1 Thess 3:6). He also recorded his prayer for them in 1 Thessalonians 3:12 that the Lord would cause them to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men. Finally, in the verses we studied yesterday, Paul commended them for their brotherly love, saying they showed a good understanding of it and did not need any further instruction from him. In fact, so outstanding was their love that it was known in all the churches in Macedonia. Yet, as he praised them, he ended off with an exhortation that they should “increase more and more” (1 Thess 4:10). While they were doing well, it did not mean that there was no room for improvement.
 
There can never be a point in our lives where we can think that we are loving enough. We must never be proud or complacent, or be tempted to rest on our laurels. There will always be areas in our lives that can be improved on, or blind spots which we have not noticed. You may think that you are indeed very loving compared to the people around you, and you may even be right to think that way. Yes, you may, objectively speaking, even be the one who exemplifies love the most in the whole world. But we can never measure up to the love of Christ. That is the yardstick against which we are measured, and which no man can ever surpass.
 
Let us have the mindset of the Apostle Paul who readily admitted that he had not yet attained to the mark that Christ has set for him, and therefore “this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14).
 
THOUGHT: What will happen if I stop trying to increase in love?
PRAYER: Father, may I never stop seeking to abound in love and in my service for Thee.

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