Loving Others with Truth and in Grace - The Crosswalk Devotional - September 21

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Loving Others with Truth and in Grace
By Jennifer Slattery

Bible Reading:
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 for 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, NIV).

Am I the only one who, at times, lands in situations where loving others feels challenging and confusing? And I’m not referring to those instances when we’re hurt, or distrustful, or selfish, and simply don’t want to love like Jesus. I mean, that in and of itself is perhaps the most difficult assignment the Lord gave us. 

But how do we apply Christ’s directives to, say, a drug addicted child or alcoholic spouse? How should we respond to that friend struggling with debilitating depression or working through unhealed trauma from their past? What about that family member who consistently blows through our boundaries and threatens to infect us with their dysfunction? 

Loving people well, honorably, with equal parts grace and truth, feels anything but simple. Maybe that’s why I felt so drawn to today’s passage in Philippians. This letter from Paul, a first-century evangelist and God-ordained apostle who wrote much of the New Testament, encourages us to love others, those who are prickly, hurting, joyous, and fun, and everyone in between, with our thinking brains engaged.

First, I’m struck by the fact that he prayed for the Philippians to grow in love. I’m intrigued by many of his prayers in Scripture. We rarely see him praying for relief, for himself or the men and women he led. They experienced persecution, job loss, health issues, and all the other challenges and hardships we do. But Paul remained fixated on his mission, representing Christ well, and teaching those he influenced to follow his example. 

I once heard a sermon that the experience he relayed in 2 Corinthians 12, where he, according to verse 4, “was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell” enabled him to persevere through intense suffering—because he’d caught a glimpse of the amazing blessings that lay ahead. I suspect that’s true. He was able to love well, sacrificially, because he knew Christ had already won, and that God had preserved a glorious inheritance for all His children. 

Such understanding might help with our motivation, but that doesn’t speak to the confusion we often feel when trying to live this out in our day-to-day lives. That’s why we need to continually grow in knowledge, insight, and discernment. 

Paul prayed that our love might abound more and more in those qualities. If one were writing this today, they’d likely end their sentence with numerous exclamation points. Let’s break this down. In the original Greek, the word our Bibles translate as abound has the connotation of something that exceeds what is necessary and overflows all around. I’m thinking of when someone uses a hose to fill a bucket with water and keeps it flowing so that it gushes over the rim and onto the concrete. But that wasn’t enough. Paul expanded on this abundance with the phrase, “more and more.” Therefore, an increase in what already existed in abundance. 

This reminds me that we never reach a place of complete maturity, complete godliness, this side of heaven. We can always grow in our ability to love others, again, with the perfect blend of grace and truth. 

Paul prayed that the Philippians’ love, and by extension, ours, would abound in knowledge. In the original Greek, this is the understanding that comes through personal experience. It’s one thing to recite the qualities of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, to know, in our head, that love is patient, kind, and gentle. It’s another matter entirely to know how to display those characteristics when we’re hurt, irritated, sleep-deprived, or triggered. That takes experience and practice. 

Notice, also, Scripture encourages us to love with insight and discernment. Insight implies understanding the needs, challenges, perceptions and hurts of those to whom we are showing love. It’s taking time to really see people, and to respond from a place of empathy, understanding, and Spirit-led wisdom. 

And finally, God wants us to love with discernment. This reminds me of when Jesus told us to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. We’re to remain alert to manipulation tactics, dishonesty, dysfunction, and behaviors that, if encouraged, could lead someone to self-destruct. 

This also takes practice, prayer, ongoing connection with Christ, and maintaining a pure and pliable heart that learns to follow His lead, and only His lead, trusting that He knows best how we can love the souls He created.  

Further Reading:
John 13:34-35
Ephesians 4:25-32
Romans 12:9-13

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/ChayTee 

Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who co-hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast and, along with a team of 6, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and taught at writers conferences across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com.

She’s passionate about helping people experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event, and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and GodTube.

Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com! 

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