Friday, January 27, 2017

Head knowledge or Heart Knowledge


Philippians 1:9-11And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” 

Did you know that knowledge and judgment that are motivated by love are directed very carefully to certain end products that will fulfill our Lord’s design and desire for His adopted sons and daughters while they are still on Earth. An article that I read lately explained that a repository of facts can be nothing more than a curiosity, and is often an arrogant distraction. The longest distance in the world is from head to the heart. Taking what we know and turning it into a demonstrable action, something that will elicit change in our lives and the lives of those around us, is true wisdom. The ability to transform knowledge into action is oftentimes quite the hurdle. A growing intellectual ability must be useful. It is no different in God’s kingdom. Our knowledge and judgment must be used to “approve things that are excellent.”

Matthew 22:36-38 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.

Paul’s challenge to the Roman church was that they use their minds to “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”. To his young son in the faith, Paul insisted that Timothy study to show himself “approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. The “proving” (testing, affirming) has a twofold goal: that our life on this earth would be “sincere and without offence” and that we would be “filled with the fruits of righteousness.” Purity and productivity are earthly spiritual goals that are reiterated many times in the Scriptures. They, of course, are mere reflections of the holiness that our Lord creates in us when we are born again, but they are nonetheless an often-repeated demand for those of us who claim a kinship with Christ Jesus. The Bible sums it up this way in 1 Peter 1:15-16 “ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”


Blessings in Christ

No comments: