Paul the
apostle and the men ministering with him desired for God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ to “direct” their “way”
unto the Thessalonians. They wanted to visit with them again to
“establish” and “comfort” them concerning their
faith, and in chapter three and verse twelve of his letter, Paul
shared more of his desire as he requests that the Thessalonian church
members “increase and abound in love toward another” and
“all men” where we read:
And the
Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another,
and
toward all men, even
as we do toward you:
The verse begins, “And
the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward
another,...” Paul
continued his prayer for the Thessalonians with the word “And”
which is a conjunction word meaning “in addition, also and
moreover” “the Lord”
which refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which
he has power of deciding; master” “make
you to increase”
which in Greek is the phrase “pleonazō
hymas pleonazō” and
means “superabound, be augmented and exist in abundance” “and
abound”
or “to exceed a fixed number of measure, to be left over and above
a certain number or measure, be in abundance, be great, be
overflowing and excelling” “in
love”
which is the Greek word “agapē”
which
means “affection, good will, benevolence, brotherly and
unconditional love” “one
toward another”
which is the Greek phrase “allēlōn
eis allēlōn” which
means “reciprocally, mutually and reduplicated”. Paul's desire
for the Thessalonians was for the Lord to help them “superabound”
and “be in abundance” in their love toward one another.
The verse goes on to
say, “...and toward all men,
even as we do
toward you:” Paul
continued, “and toward all men”
or “kai eis pas kai” in
Greek which
means “unto, to, for and among each, every, any, all, the whole and
everyone” “even as we do”
or “according as, just as or in the same manner as Paul and his
companions” “toward you”
which refers the Thessalonian church members. Paul and his men had an
“increasing” and “abounding” love toward the Thessalonians,
and he desired they have the same level of love toward one another
and “all”
people as well.
When
we think about Paul's words, not only do we notice his desire and
prayer for the Thessalonians to “increase” in their love
toward others, but also to “abound” or “superabound”
in it. This “love” toward others can only be obtained by the Lord
Jesus. Our natural tendency is to love those who love us, and unless
they do something to disturb that love, it is easy to love them.
Paul's challenge included not only the other Thessalonian church
members, but also “all men”. The Lord God Almighty loves
“everyone”, and if we are to continue in our “increasing” and
“abounding” in His “agape” love, it is necessary that He come
to our aid. Perhaps our prayer today should be to ask the Lord Jesus
to “increase” our love toward others, and may He help us
to “superabound” in our affection and care for others in the same
manner as He loves us.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians why he desires they “increase
and abound in love”, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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