I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp
how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19
Not long ago, when I was standing on the beach contemplating the great love God has for us, this passage of scripture came to mind. Here, the apostle Paul describes the love of Christ as an immeasurable, unfathomable expanse, a little like the view I had that day of the ocean. Even though its expanse ended at the horizon, I knew it was vastly larger than I could take in. As my eyes skimmed its surface, I knew there were unfathomable depths beneath. As I stepped into its water, I realized that I was experiencing only a tiny drop of what really existed. God’s love is much like this. What we can know and experience is but a small part of the huge heart God has for you and for me.
Paul’s prayer in this passage reveals several amazing things about the love of God. First, he prays that our lives, our thoughts, our very being would be firmly established in the fact that we are greatly loved by the Son of God. Secondly, Paul prays that we may be given the power to grasp the limitless, endless love of God. Because God’s love is not like anything we know or experience in this life, He must supernaturally empower us to get even a small glimpse of it. Lastly, Paul tells us that when God pours out upon us the knowledge of His great love for us, we are filled with the fullness of His divine presence. This is pretty amazing! The love of God is so wide, so long, so high and so deep that it cannot be measured. Yet, it can be made so small that we can contain it in our hearts and lives. It is a little like saying all of the ocean can be poured upon you and you can carry it with you throughout your life.
Let this be our prayer for each other at CPC. May we be containers and distributors of the mighty love of God!