And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

– Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV)

Oh yeah!

Paul swings for the fences here. Because, when you break it down, what higher goal can a person have for those he has ministered to than what Paul is praying here?

Abounding more and more in love. That means a love that overflows, and keeps overflowing. Picture it.

With knowledge and discernment (for knowledge without discernment is a scary thing. When I come in contact with discernment-less knowledge, I run away as fast as I can!).

Able to approve what is excellent. The NIV puts it this way: “so that you may be able to discern what is best”. Best! So many of us spend our Christian lives settling for “good”, or even “ok”.

For a brief time when I was in high school the word everyone used was “excellent”. Yes, just like Wayne and Garth (it’s scary how much I was like them when I was that age – heh). We would say “excellent” for everything. But few of us knew what excellence really was. To be honest, my idea of “excellence” at the time was to be the drummer for the rock band Rush. As good as they were (Wayne and Garth: “Excellent!”) there’s no way I’d trade a relationship with the Lord for all the riches and fame this world can offer. Because I’ve seen glimpses of what real “Excellent” looks like, in the beautiful spirits of some wonderful Christians I’ve known, and – rarely, and only for brief seconds – in my own heart as Christ has worked in me. But mostly, I’ve seen what excellence is as I’ve come to know Jesus better; for He is the only One who ever lived “Excellent” every day of His life.

Able to approve what is excellent! This is my prayer for those I love and long for, and for myself. Enough with trading God’s gold for the world’s wood and calling that “good”. Do I know what excellence is, as God defines it? May I have that discernment, and be able to discern what is best. “OK” makes for easy, but, well, excellent prepares us for eternity. And we all need a lot of preparation.

For this prayer from Paul is really a prayer for Christ to do the work only He can do: to fill those Paul loved and longed for with the fruit of righteousness. And this righteousness only comes through Jesus. And this righteousness is the only kind that brings glory and praise to God.

Read this passage again. Is this your prayer, for yourself and for those that you love? It is becoming mine:

Excellent!