Mature with Your Family

Scripture: Philippians 1:9-11

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Insights: The fourth aspect to this particular sign post to restore your joy is to mature with your family.  Paul desires for these Philippians to mature in love and specifically in two ways.  Paul wants their love to grow in real knowledge.  The only way we are going to grow in real knowledge is to spend time with God in His Word, the Bible.  It is vital for our health as believers to spend time every day with God in His Word.  It is from this meaningful time in the Scriptures that the second area in which Paul desired for these Philippians to mature is developed.  The second area Paul wanted their love to grow was in discernment.  Discernment is our ability to recognize the things of God verse the things of this world.  There are a lot of good things we do as believers, but they are often not the best or excellent things.  These good things sometimes distract us from the true things God desires of us.  When we are growing in these areas, knowledge and discernment, we will then be sincere and blameless before Christ.  The word for sincere here is illustrative of two types of tests.  One test is standing under light to expose everything clearly.  The second test is that of winnowing chaff from the wheat.  Being sincere means one has been tested by Jesus and been found blameless.  Paul is quick, however, to point us back to the true reason we are found blameless and it is because we are full of the fruit of righteousness.  This righteousness Paul informs us is not of our own doing but that of Jesus Christ.  Jesus’ righteousness in imputed into us and that is the reason we pass the test and are blameless.  Did you catch the two-fold process of this sincere and blameless life?  We mature in the Bible and discern the things of God.  The reason we mature in the Bible is because Christ imputes His grace in us.  It all happens because of God’s love for us.  Paul concludes this maturing process is all done for His glory.

Questions:

1. Are you maturing in Christ?
2. Are you passing the tests of your character and remaining blameless before God?

Prayer: Father, thank You again for the family You have given to me.  May we truly mature in our love so that we might have knowledge and the ability to discern what is of You, O Lord, and what is of this world.  Grow us to be sincere and blameless before You.  And may You be glorified as a result.  Amen.