DO YOU UNDERSTAND GOD'S LOVE?

Do you understand God's love?

I am still beginning...

There are so many things about God that we have never fully known yet.

There are so many things yet to discover about God.

Let me share with you one of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in the book of Ephesians 3:14,

“14, For this reason, I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may 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, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”

Friends, is this your desire? “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Wow! I am just dumbfounded with this prayer line of Paul. Do you think, Paul experienced the depth, length, and height of God’s love? How come Paul said all these lines? What is really Paul’s experience? What is really Paul’s feeling for God? What is really Paul’s thought about God?

How about we try to imagine Paul’s blind zeal, Paul’s blind dedication, and Paul’s blind steadfastness. He was called Saul when he was in this blindness. Paul’s god was stern, strict, and tyrant. There is no second chance for Paul’s god. No second thoughts to kill any Christian, and no second thoughts to catch anyone disobeying his god. Then, one day, the met the true God, Jesus. Jesus revealed Himself to Paul and Saul became Paul. And from that time on the cruelest person that a Christian would never mess with is turned into a missionary for Jesus to the gentile nation.

The brute in heart in the encounter with Jesus has known how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and known this love that surpasses knowledge and he is filled with the measure of all the fullness of God. This knowledge of God’s love for his own soul brought an enormous realization of his sinfulness and nothingness. The overwhelming power of God’s love brought submission and humility to the heart of Paul.

Paul experienced the depth, length, and height of God’s love. Friends, the good news is that this is not only for Paul. This is all for us to know and experience the depth, length, and height of God’s love.

We may be Saul but we have the grandest hope to be a Paul with God’s transforming love.