NOVEMBER 27, 2012
More
And More
Read: 1 Thessalonians 3:12–4:10
May the Lord make you
increase and abound in love to one another and
to all, just as we do to you. —1 Thessalonians 3:12
A
rallying cry often heard today in our economically challenged
world is “Less
and less.” Governments are called to balance their
budgets. People are urged to
use less energy and decrease
consumption of limited resources. It is good
advice that we should
all heed. In the realm of faith, however, there are no
shortages of
love and grace and strength. Therefore, as followers of Christ, we
are urged to demonstrate His love in our lives in ever-increasing
measure.
In
the apostle Paul’s first letter to the believers in Thessalonica,
he urged them
to “abound more and more” in a lifestyle that
pleases God (4:1). He also
commended them for their demonstration
of love for each other, and called them
to “increase more and more”
in brotherly love (v.10).
That
kind of ever-increasing love is possible only because it comes
from God’s
limitless resources, not from our own dwindling supply.
Poet Annie Johnson
Flint wrote:
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
The
apostle Paul expressed his desire for the believers: “May the
Lord make you
increase and abound in love to one another and to
all, just as we do to you” (1
Thess. 3:12).
How
much should we love God and others? More and more!
Our limited ability to love does not change God’s limitless
power to love through us.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
