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Everyone loves to discover.
Whether it is discovering a hidden treasure, a new bit of knowledge, a new
place to visit, or a new planet, the experience of discovery has universal
appeal. In discovery there is the element of surprise, adventure, and
reward. I believe that life is meant to be an adventure of discovery. As
we grow we discover talents we never knew we had, foods we never knew we
liked, friends we never knew existed, places we never thought we’d go.
For the first 30 years of my life I never dreamed that someday I’d be
preaching the gospel, going to China, directing a Bible camp in Canada, or
writing articles about the Bible. I could not have imagined the places I
would live, the friends I would make, or even the struggles I would face.
Only God knows what discoveries await my life in the future.
In Phil 1.9-11, the apostle Paul prays (for the Philippians and for all of us) that “your love would 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.” The words “approve the things that are excellent” bring out this idea of discovery. In fact, the NASB inserts a footnote for the word “approve”, suggesting the word “discover.” The Greek word is dokimazo, normally meaning “prove”, “approve”, “put to the test”, or “discern.” But we put things to the test in order to discover whether they are genuine or not (cf. 1 Pet 1.7; 1 Jn 4.1). So Paul wants us to have knowledge and discernment in order that we might discover the things that are excellent. That is the true adventure of the Christian life. When we are young in the faith, or in years, we seldom recognize what is genuinely excellent. Our value system is distorted, for we have not yet discovered what the most excellent things of life are. Often we think the excellent things have to do with earthly pleasures and earthly treasures. But if we are growing in knowledge and discernment, we learn that these are not the truly excellent things after all. We discover, sometimes slowly, sometimes painfully, that the excellent things are not tangible, nor do they have to do with pleasing self. But in order to make such discoveries, we need more than knowledge and discernment. If you look again at Paul’s prayer, you will notice that he begins by praying that our “love may abound still more and more.” We will never discover what is truly excellent unless we have an abounding love—a love for God, for one another, and for our fellow man; and a love for the spiritual and eternal, as opposed to the physical and temporary (2 Cor 4.18; 1 Jn 2.15-17). Without love, we are back to the self-seeking pleasure-hunt rather than the “other-seeking” treasure-hunt. If you wish to live the adventure that God has in mind for you, discovering the things that are truly excellent, then you must set your heart to discovery by abounding in love and growing in real knowledge and discernment. Then life will truly be an adventure of discovery. And you cannot even imagine what discoveries God has in store for you (Eph 3.20). | |||
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