So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 - The Message Bible)

Reflection

Love is…not what we expect. Not just warm feelings, as we think when we are young and keen. If it should have meaning, and if it should have lasting value, it needs to be tempered, to be tested and tried, much like a piece of metal in a furnace. Another reading for this Sunday comes from the prophet Malachi, who says of the One who is to come, that ‘he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver’ (Malachi 3:3). God in Jesus, who is Love through and through, teaches us to live a life of love, fruitful and abundant, overflowing in goodness, but also full of discerning wisdom, being able to see the truth and act accordingly.

Revd Ylva