And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 1may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:17-18
Most people know that God loves them. However, they do not know the depth of that love. That is critical information to have as we try to make the best of our circumstances. The love of God for his creation is unfathomable. There are no words to describe the profundity of that love. It has no boundaries, and it cannot be corrupted. No sinner is exempt from that love, and no sin it cannot forgive.
Human’s understanding of love is limited at best. Our love is always conditional and shallow. It is limited in its efficacy and extent. Our love is flawed and partial. However, God’s love reaches to the highest mountain and flows to the lowest valley. It gives strength to the weak, hope to the hopeless, peace to the weary, and joy to the brokenhearted.
Throughout history, many individuals have sacrificed much or martyred their lives for the sake of others. Despite their sacrifice or heroism, their love was limited in scope because it was not to the benefit of all. Every creature on earth benefits from the love of God. The love of God sustains even the wicked and the ungodly.
Knowing that God’s love is unfathomable gives us the blessed assurance that all things will work together for our good. It is because of God's love that we can face our giants with confidence and rejoice in times of sorrow. God’s love is live affirming, strength upholding, and joy sustaining. No matter how difficult things get, we can be sure that God will deliver us because he loves us.
The apostle Paul says in Romans 8:31-38, we are more than conquerors because of God's love through Christ Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love. In him, the depth of God’s love is made known to all humanity. It is by the death and resurrection of Christ that we truly understand how deep is God’s love. When I think about all that Jesus did and said, the price he paid, the life he lived, and the sacrifice he made, in light of his divine nature as the second person in the Triune Godhead, I marvel at God's love.
When we feel unappreciated or unloved or rejected or scorned, we can find comfort in knowing that God's love sustains us. For the oppressed or marginalized, dehumanized, or despised, God wants them to know that his love overshadows humanity’s hatred. God loves us more than the world can ever hate us.
Let us, therefore, be rooted and established in love. We are the means by which God’s love is made known in the world. Our foremost responsibility as ambassadors of Jesus Christ is to be examples of God’s love to others. We should strive to be the embodiments of God’s love.
During this season of coronavirus pandemic, love is paramount for the sick and the brokenhearted. People protest on the streets of our cities to tell the world they are tired of being marginalized and oppressed; they want to be loved. I believe God is leading many protests because his love for black and brown people is being threatened. He is also working to transform systems of oppression and redeem oppressors because of his love.
We need to know the depth of God’s love because we live in a world of pain and suffering. Many of us are tossed and driven by the restless sea of time. Trials dark on ev'ry hand, and we cannot understand all the ways that God would lead us to that blessed Promised Land. Nevertheless, we need to remain confident of his amazing grace because of his unfathomable love for us.
Prayer- Blessed Lord, may we learn to delight in your love so we can have the audacity of hope when the storms of life roll into our lives.