The Encourager
“Love Grows Out of Knowledge - by Jeff Curtis”
Love Grows out of Knowledge
By Jeff Curtis
Knowledge is the first essential for living a joyous Christian life, but having knowledge isn’t enough.
It’s a mistake to think that being a Christian consists only in getting a few facts straight. A believer absorbs the truth. He learns to love. No one knows all he should when he has memorized all the stops along Paul’s missionary journeys. Paul said, “We know in part” (1Corinthians 13:9). To live as a Christian requires the knowledge of facts, but it also consists in the application of knowledge to the heart.
It's not only the mind, but it’s the heart also that must belong to God. If any believer is to enjoy the “full reward” of Christian living, the heart has to change. Of all the emotions that stir human hearts, John brought love to the forefront. In doing that, he was in the mainstream of the biblical message, from Jesus to Paul. In his letters, John emphasized both love and truth. The apostle had no new commandment even when he insisted that, in Christ, the word “love” had been expanded and redefined. He called the new commandment “the one which we have had from the beginning” (2John v.5). The new commandment was the old one that believers had from the beginning. It was that should “love one another.” John wouldn’t leave it there. He went on to say, “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (2John v.6).
The “full reward” that Christians enjoy comes from cultivating the power of love that follows knowledge. No Christian should overlook the importance of cultivating love in their life. A believer can and must grow in love all the time. Love isn’t a thing that some people just mysteriously have. To know Christ is to want to love, it’s to learn how to love. Love is as broad and elusive as knowledge.
Finally. Believers don’t just sit down at some point and say, “There! I’ve done it. I have loved. I have obeyed God’s command. I have mastered knowledge and love. Let’s move on to the next commandment.” As believers “now in part,” the also love in part. Christians will never love perfectly, but by God’s grace, they may be able to say that they know more and love more deeply today than they did yesterday.
Meditate on this:
Proverbs 10:19
In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
Secrets of Growth:
A congregation will surely grow when…
- Each member has a deep concern for the lost.
- Each member enters the worship service with enthusiasm.
- Each member is interested in an aggressive Bible study.
- Each member is interested in improving their abilities.
- Each member tries to put more into the work than they are taking out.
- The preacher preaches the word in love.
- Each member is personally involved in the work.
- Each member lets love express itself to every member.
- Each member “in honor prefers one another.”
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