“And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” – 1Thessalonians 3:12-13

Someone once decided to bless me with fuel. On getting to the fuel station, she told the attendant to put in full tank.

When the tank filled up, she told the attendant to ‘fill it up completely.’

When it was filled to the brim, she asked us to shake the car until the tank was so full that the petrol was pouring on the ground!

Jokingly, I told the dear sister that what she had done was exactly what David meant when he said; “You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” (Psalm 23:5).

In our meditation today, the apostle Paul prays for the saints in the city of Thessalonica, the political capital of the Roman Province of Macedonia. 

Some scholars believe that the 1 Thessalonians was the very first epistle that was written in the New Testament.

The church in Thessalonica was planted by the apostle Paul (and Silas) on his second missionary journey. 

He loved that church so much that he prayed for it more than any other.

Indeed, Thessalonica eventually became so important as a spiritual centre that the so-called ‘Edict of Thessalonica,’ which made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, was first issued in that city in AD 380.

“May the Lord cause you to increase and overflow in love for one another, and for all people,” Paul prayed. Our focus today is on the word ‘overflow.’

In the original language, huperperisseuo, the word translated ‘overflow,’ means “to abound more exceedingly”; to abound beyond measure.

Perisseuo means ‘overflowing,’ so with the prefix ‘huper’ (from which we got the English word ‘hyper’), it becomes huperperisseuo, which means ‘super-abounding.’

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

JOHN 13:35

So the idea is not just filling up to the limits of something, but filling so as to go beyond the limits – to super-abound.

So, how much love can a human heart take? God made it in such a way that it can be filled until it overflows!

When it comes to the appropriate measure of our love for the saints and indeed all people, the will of God is that it should increase up to overflowing. 

But is it possible to love all people really? Some people are simply unlovable, someone might say.

Well, that is why it is a prayer to God for agape love – the ‘God kind of love’ because human love is ‘transactional’ – we tend to love people if there is a benefit that will accrue to us.

It is worth noting that in verse 13, the Scripture says “so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness,” which implies that there is a direct connection between love and virtue.

That means that we can only deliberately hurt people because don’t love them and when that happens then our hearts are not established in virtue.

Our Lord Jesus tells us in John 13:35 (Living Bible Translation): “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

So, what is the measure of your love for the saints and all people?

May the God of love cause us to increase and overflow with unconditional love for all people for the glory of His Name, Amen!