This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Philippians 1:9

Intelligent love, or "smart love," flows out of the knowledge of God's love for us sinners. The next step is to work earnestly at knowing the person who is loved. That's what Paul means when he says we should love with "knowledge and depth of insight."

So often we think that if we love someone we will automatically do the right thing for that person. It just isn't so. Thousands of marriages and families are in shambles because the people involved didn't get to know more deeply those whom they love.

"Smart love" grows out of an experience of the love of God in our own lives, and it then depends on truly getting to know the persons we love. Knowing when to say something and when to be quiet -- that's part of intelligent love. So is knowing when to do something and when not to do it or when to pull away entirely for a while and pray for someone you love.

We look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and its fruits, to strengthen, enrich, and guide our love with His gift of wisdom.

PRAYER: Lord, give us strength and depth of insight to perform the duties of love You expect from us; in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Job 22-24    Matthew 12:1-23

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