Yesterday, we considered the truth that God's love is far beyond our own, and we should not mock it with our casual usage of the phrase "God is love." We also considered the truth that Christianity can't be boiled down to love, because the call to love is burden we cannot possibly bear apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the truths of God's Word. So, remembering our identity in Christ and filled with gratitude, preparing to walk the road of life in love, we started receiving a reality check on the true nature of our love.
Our first three reality checks were that (1) our love falls short, (2) our love is foolish, and (3) our love will be exposed. Today, we will look at two more reality checks concerning our love.
Fourth, our love will not overcome. Paul's prayer for the Philippians love continues with the prayer that it would be "filled with the fruit of righteousness...to the glory and praise of God" (v11). But again, we cannot attain to these great standards. Our lives often bear rotten fruit that brings discredit upon the God we serve, and poisoned fruit--words and deeds that hurt others and injure relationships. And as James notes, the same tongues that bless God also curse others, made in His image! We bear no fruit on our own, and on our own accord, we will rob God of the glory due His name. But that leads us to the last reality check, which provides us with good news in both of these regards.
Fifth, the love of Jesus Christ changes everything. You have probably already noticed one phrase I skipped in this last verse, "through Jesus Christ" (v11). In John 15, Jesus teaches "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me bears much fruit; apart from me you can bear no fruit." So when Paul prays that we would be "filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ," he is praying for something that Jesus has promised to those who abide in Him. Jesus explains in the same passage, "By this my Father is glorified, if you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." So when Paul prays that we be "filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God," he is again praying for something that Jesus has promises. If we are connected to the life-giving Vine by faith, then we will bear the fruit of righteousness, which is the fruit of the Spirit of Christ carrying His saving truths to our hearts and transforming them. And as Christ transforms our hearts through His Holy Spirit and we bear good fruit, we bring glory to God.
But remember that all of these great blessings started with the love of Christ. Jesus again tells us in John 15 in a famous verse that "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Well, who truly exhibited that greatest love? It was Jesus Himself, who laid down His life for His sheep. He says that "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit." Why did He choose you? Because of the rotten and poisoned fruit you were already bearing? Because of your selfish and self-glorifying ways? No! He chose out of His own eternal, unconditional love, rooted in His own will. And unlike our petty love, His love can never change or diminish. That is why Paul can say "Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
So, my friends, the Christian life is not solely about love, as if love is something that we can produce of our own accord, it is--to use Paul's words in Galatians--about "faith working through love." And that faith is a gift of God, not by works so that we cannot boast. We love because He first loved us, and that transforms the way we live. So when Paul prays that your love would abound more and more, know that it will because Christ loved you from before time began to the cross and then poured His love into your heart by His Holy Spirit. Now, abide in Him, for then you will remember your identity in Christ, be filled with gratitude, and with Paul, overflow with love for God and His people, by His grace alone.
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