After watching the Super Bowl this past Sunday, watching a plethora of interesting, sometimes humorous, often stupid commercials, I found myself thinking about love and discernment. The other day I was counseling a young couple who are passionately in love with each other and we talked about wisdom and discernment. We have just started a university, Outlier University, with among other goals, a desire to build men and women with, “hearts and heads on fire for God.” That’s a fine way of saying, loving hearts and discerning minds.
Paul must have been acutely aware of the need. In writing to the Philippians, he put the heart and head together and wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.” (Phil. 1:9, NKJV). Might I presume a bit to say that Paul is instructing us to have hearts on fire (abounding love) and heads on fire (knowledge and discernment).
A heart of fire in the biblical sense of true Christianity is a dynamic love for God and His people. To love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength is the foremost commandment of the believer. But following close behind is the love of our neighbor as ourselves. Now that second part takes some discernment.
In my life, I don’t think I’ve done very well in either. But I’m growing and that’s the journey, right? The journey into discernment begins with the journey into dynamic, growing, intimate love. Abounding love leads us into abounding discernment.
My favorite commercial of the Super Bowl was one by Toyota, telling us the story of a little baby born with no legs. I’ll let you watch it and you tell me if my discernment senses were accurate. That little girl had a lot of love in her life.
Heart and head on fire!
Steve
Steve Holt D.D. MA
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