I really like the Spider-Man movies starring Tom Holland and it seems I’m not alone. Together, those films have made nearly $4 billion worldwide. Part of their appeal is watching a normal high school student discover he has extraordinary power. As Peter Parker learns to navigate life with his new superpowers, he keeps asking: How should I use this power? The answer the films return to is simple: with great power comes great responsibility.
That same idea sits at the heart of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Paul writes to Christians in Philippi and reminds them that they too have been given a kind of “superpower”, the superpower of love. A power that can transform lives. But the question is, how will they use it? Because, like Peter Parker, we can get it wrong. Love, when misdirected, can cause harm – when we love the wrong things, love things too much, or too little. So how do we love well? Paul’s answer is surprising. He doesn’t simply pray for more love, but for love shaped by knowledge. He writes in chapter 1 verse 9:
“that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…”
Love needs direction. For example, my dog loves chocolate but knowledge tells me that it’s toxic for him. Real love is guided by what is true and good. Knowledge helps us love better. That’s part of why education matters so much. Education is not just to know more, but to know more so that you can love the world and people more wisely. Yet Paul points us to something deeper than general knowledge. He points us to a person: Jesus. We can describe love, define it, even debate it but at some point, it must be experienced. Later on in Philippians chapter 2, we don’t just hear about love – we see it in Jesus’ humility and self-giving. If we’re honest, we keep getting love wrong, sadly again and again. But Paul lifts our eyes away from all the distractions and points us to Jesus. The one who made us, knows us, and loves us more deeply than we can imagine. Because in the end, the key to loving well and living well is knowing Jesus.