“And to know this love . . .” Ephesians 3:19 (NIV)
Jesus loves you. How do you feel when you read that? Do you doubt it because you’re suffering? Do you disbelieve it because there’s great sin in your life? Do you dismiss it because you’re so busy with life that you don’t have time to think about it?
If so, then remember the prayer Paul prayed for the church, saying:
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have 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 to the measure of all the fullness of God.
In praying this prayer, Paul didn’t doubt that God loves his people, but he did doubt that they truly knew it, really believed it, and were experiencing it. Many Christians today know God loves them, but they know it like someone who takes a driver’s education class but never drives a car.
Paul wanted the love of God, like a plant rooted deeply in nourishment and able to flourish, to be a deep root in people’s souls. He wanted the church to know that God’s love is wide enough to welcome anyone, long enough to stretch from the beginning to the end of time, deep enough to reach down to the worst of sinners, and high enough to transport us to God’s heavenly kingdom.
Read
- Why did Paul pray for the church to be rooted and grounded in love?
- Why would Paul want to pray such a prayer for Christians?
Prayer
Pray Ephesians 3:17–19 (ESV) for yourself: “So that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith—that I, being rooted and grounded in love, 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 I may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
