And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;
Paul the apostle is writing to a young church community in Thessalonica, a city in what is now northern Greece. He first acknowledges something genuinely true: they are already loving other believers across Macedonia, the wider region surrounding them. But his encouragement is not "well done, you have arrived" — it is "keep going, do this more and more." The word "urge" suggests this is not a casual observation. Paul believed that love — even when it is genuinely present — is always capable of growing deeper, wider, and more costly. In his view, love is a direction you keep moving in, not a destination you settle at.
Lord, thank You for the love You have already grown in me — I know it came from You. Now stretch me further. Show me where I have grown comfortable, where I have quietly stopped at good enough. Help me love the people around me the way You keep loving me — always more. Amen.
Nobody likes being told they are not doing enough — especially when they are already doing something good. Paul knows this, which is why he opens with genuine recognition: you really do love your brothers. He is not scolding; he is building. But then comes the "yet" — and that small word carries a lifetime of challenge. Love, in Paul's mind, is not a checkbox. It is not something you achieve and then maintain at a comfortable level. It is always growing, or quietly shrinking. Think about the people you love most. You probably love them well by most measures. But there is almost certainly more room — more patience on a Tuesday night when you are exhausted, more generosity when it costs something real, more showing up when it is genuinely inconvenient. "More and more" is not a guilt trip. It is an invitation. The love you have right now is real. It is also just the beginning of what it could be.
Paul says they already love "all the brothers throughout Macedonia" — what do you think that kind of widespread, practical love actually looked like in their everyday lives?
In what specific relationship or community in your life do you sense the most room to love more deeply or more consistently?
Is it possible to love people genuinely but still hold back in certain ways? What does that self-protection look like for you, and what usually triggers it?
How does it affect the people around you when your love is actively growing versus when it has settled into comfortable routine? Have you seen that difference play out in a relationship?
What is one concrete thing you could do this week to express love more intentionally to someone you already care about — something that would actually cost you something?
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Revelation 2:4
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Philippians 1:9
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1 John 4:7
And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
1 Thessalonians 3:12
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:34
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:40
For indeed you already do practice it toward all the believers throughout Macedonia [by actively displaying your love and concern for them]. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, that you excel [in this matter] more and more,
AMP
for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,
ESV
for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,
NASB
And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.
NIV
and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;
NKJV
Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
NLT
You're already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it.
MSG