Philippians 1:9-11; Ridiculous Love

“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.”

We will look at this prayer over the course of a few days – there is much to digest here.

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…” With Paul, everything boils down to love.  Perhaps you remember this teaching from Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 (I know this is a familiar passage, but read it like you’ve never seen it before):

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

When Paul speaks of love, those 13 verses define what he is talking about. He prays not only that we would have this type of love, but that it would abound in our lives.  The word “abound” comes from the Greek word perisseuē which means, “to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (transitively) to cause to superabound or excel”.

In other words, Paul prays that love will super-saturate the church; that their love would be over the top, excessive, extravagant, and frankly…ridiculous. What does ridiculous love look like?  Here is an example:

A friend of my old roommate decided it was time to tell a girl how he felt about her.  His feelings had been growing and growing till he had to say something or he would burst.  So he drove over to her house, rang the doorbell, and he poured out his heart when she answered the door.  She was surprised, touched, and honored, but alas, she didn’t feel the same way about him.  So he turned around, got back into his car, and drove the 31 HOURS back to his home in Wisconsin from her home in Seattle.  Thirty-one hours…each way…for a 30 minute conversation!

That would be an example of ridiculous love. Ridiculous love is costly, time consuming, and seems crazy to most everyone else. Of course, Jesus is our ultimate example in this (as in everything).  How did he love?  Well, he went out to seek and save the lost, he loved God and loved others, He healed, taught, prayed, challenged, obeyed God, cared for others, and eventually, He died on a cross so that others might live. 

As I consider those things, the challenge for me is that Jesus wasn’t afraid to jump into someone else’s mess. He talked with beggars on the street, He waded into religious debates, and He cared for the diseased and outcast.  He wasn’t afraid to get His hands dirty and get emotionally involved.  In my flesh, those are the last things I want to do.  But my Spirit knows that is where Christ is and it is where I should be as well.

How about you?  As you consider the ridiculous love of Jesus, where is your challenge?  Ask God to reveal where He wants your love to abound to those around you.  There are very few guarantees in the world, but I can guarantee you this: God wants you and me to love more.  Pray that God will give you a ridiculous love for Him and that it will abound to those around you.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa