Knowing Love
Read
Ephesians 3:18-19
...may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
...may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
Reflect
What impact does growing in your relationship with Christ have on your love for Him?
When my wife and I first got married, I thought I loved her. And I did! But I soon realized that even though I thought I knew her well, there were always new things that I was discovering about her the longer we were married. Now that we’ve been married for almost 40 years, my love for her has grown immensely. I thought I couldn’t love her more than I did on our wedding day, but I was wrong!
The same is true in our relationship with Christ. The more we get to know Him, the more we love Him. In today’s passage, Paul is praying for the Ephesians. His prayer is that they would be able to comprehend how vast God’s love is for all who are in Christ. Paul points out that the love of Christ “surpasses knowledge.” As finite human beings, we will never be able to fully grasp how much Jesus loves us. As a child, we can sing “Jesus love me, this I know” and believe that it is true. But we fail to fully grasp the concept.
The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I understand the deep love that He has for me. But at the same time, the more I know about Jesus, the more I marvel at His love and fail to fully comprehend it. It is astounding to me to know that I will never, ever be able to fully grasp the love of Christ. But I plan to spend the rest of my life trying to.
I can say with confidence that the more I know Christ and how much He loves me, the more I love Him. Friends, as the leadership of First Church of Christ, we are praying the same for you. We are praying that the Holy Spirit fills you up and gives you the strength to continue to grow in your understanding of Jesus’s unfathomable love for you which in turn will strengthen and deepen your love for Him.
When my wife and I first got married, I thought I loved her. And I did! But I soon realized that even though I thought I knew her well, there were always new things that I was discovering about her the longer we were married. Now that we’ve been married for almost 40 years, my love for her has grown immensely. I thought I couldn’t love her more than I did on our wedding day, but I was wrong!
The same is true in our relationship with Christ. The more we get to know Him, the more we love Him. In today’s passage, Paul is praying for the Ephesians. His prayer is that they would be able to comprehend how vast God’s love is for all who are in Christ. Paul points out that the love of Christ “surpasses knowledge.” As finite human beings, we will never be able to fully grasp how much Jesus loves us. As a child, we can sing “Jesus love me, this I know” and believe that it is true. But we fail to fully grasp the concept.
The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I understand the deep love that He has for me. But at the same time, the more I know about Jesus, the more I marvel at His love and fail to fully comprehend it. It is astounding to me to know that I will never, ever be able to fully grasp the love of Christ. But I plan to spend the rest of my life trying to.
I can say with confidence that the more I know Christ and how much He loves me, the more I love Him. Friends, as the leadership of First Church of Christ, we are praying the same for you. We are praying that the Holy Spirit fills you up and gives you the strength to continue to grow in your understanding of Jesus’s unfathomable love for you which in turn will strengthen and deepen your love for Him.
Pray
Jesus, thank You for Your love. I can spend all my life trying to comprehend how much You love me but never fully understand it. Increase my understanding, Lord, and strengthen my love for You. Give me Your power to love others the way that You love me. Amen.
