LOVE: Increase & Abound

"Now may our God and Father himself and our lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you."

(1 Thessalonians 3:11-12)

The Beatles sang, "All you need is love." Burt Bacharach reminded us, "What the world needs now (is love sweet love)." And who can forget Usher's "DJ got us fallin' in love again"?!? (Okay, maybe that last one isn't quite a classic... yet!)

The times, they are a changin'. Indeed. The world seems to be getting more divided. Heck, we Americans might be more divided now than anytime since the Civil War! In the midst of chaos, confusion, and bitterness, we need a renewed call to love.

Paul, in his first letter to the church in Thessolonica, prays that they might "increase and abound in love for one another and for all." I love that. It starts with loving those within their fellowship (one another). Then it expands to everyone ("and for all"). We're good at loving those within our circles... not so good about the "all" part. Jesus was constantly pushing people to expand their understanding of who we're called to love (it's always a larger circle that we're comfortable with, too!).

And no matter how much we're loving... Paul's prayer is that they'll "increase and abound." None of us have reached the pinnacle of loving. There's always room for improvement. So no matter what our political, theological, or social positions may be on current "hot button" topics, we ALL can use more love in our lives. And the world needs it now even more than ever.