Fruit of Righteousness

June 11, 2016

Devotions:

        “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."  ‭Philippians‬ ‭1:9-11‬ ‭NASB‬‬

        God is love and we are predestined to be in His image which is the image of love.  Here Paul prays that the saints would abound in love through the true, real knowledge and discernment.  Without discernment many times what the world is peddling as love we will accept as love when it really is not love.  Much of what is happening in the world today called love is not love.  Men try to convince women that they love them so that they will sleep with them without marriage.  Real love is a commitment to honor the other person above yourself. When we know what real love is, the God kind of love that loves with no strings attached, then we will know the things that are excellent.  As we walk in love because we boldly spend time in our Father's presence, righteousness, we bear the fruit of that righteousness by being a vessel of pure love without any ulterior motives.  We can only love like this as we spend time in the Father's presence and behold His love Gift to us, who is Jesus.  Our love is a response to His love for us so the more that we partake of His love the more we express that love to a hurting and dying world.  If we do not spend time in His presence even though we have His righteousness then we act selfishly.  God acts selflessly and when we spend time with Him we too will act selflessly.  This is the fruit of righteousness.  This selfless love then demonstrates in the same way that Jesus modeled before us, in signs, wonders and miracles to show forth the love of the Father to those who do not believe so that they might repent and receive the gift of life.