<p>3:12- see on 2 Cor. 12:15.</p><p><em>And the Lord make you increase and abound in love one toward another and toward all men- </em>As noted on :11, Paul recognized that the Father and Son can work directly on the human heart. Increasing and abounding in love is an attitude of the heart or spirit, and here Paul prays that they will be &quot;made&quot; to have this; the work of the Father and Son on human spirits is surely by their Spirit working directly in the hearts of believers. Paul talks of an &ldquo;account&rdquo; of good works that is &lsquo;increased&rsquo; by each good work- an account not kept by us, but by the Father (Phil. 4:17).&nbsp; And if we &lsquo;increase&rsquo; in such acts of love, we increasingly have a heart unshaken by the prospect of judgment to come (1 Thess. 3:13).</p><p><em>Even as we also toward you</em>- Paul envisaged the love between the Thessalonians and himself as being a love which was ever increasing, thanks to God making it like that. All human relationships seem to begin with an in-loveness which fades and even ends. The unique spiritual gift of ever abounding love is that the recipients of that gift go on increasing in love. And this will be our experience eternally; an ever increasing love between each other. This is why it is so serious if believers in this life will not love one another, placing barriers and stone walls between each other so that love has no chance to grow.</p>