We already looked at the concept of love in its importance. There is another, essential aspect that we should examine. In Ephesians, Paul prays for the Christians there "to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being" (Eph 3:16). What, exactly, was Paul concerned about? That they would have the strength to ... know the love of Christ (Eph 3:17-19). And we go ... "Um ... okay, Paul ... that's pretty simple." And I don't think it's as simple as we think it is.
Paul wants us to be "rooted and grounded in love" (Eph 3:17). Since Christ said, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Joh 13:35), we can see that being rooted and grounded in love is important. But what love? Certainly not the world's version. Paul is talking about the "love of Christ" but he says that this love "surpasses knowledge" (Eph 3:19). That is, it's much bigger than we realize. He indicates this when he says we need to comprehend "what is the breadth and length and height and depth" of this love (Eph 1:18). That word, "comprehend," is interesting. It means "to grasp," "to take to oneself." Paul wants us to get it and make it our own ... and we won't. We'll need supernatural strength for it. In fact, he says he wants us "to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" (Eph 3:18). "Um ... Paul ... isn't that contradictory?" That's why we need supernatural power to get this.
I don't think we grasp the love of Christ. Imagine a guy in a rowboat on Lake Superior. In the middle, he can't see any shore. It's just ... vast. So he takes a cup and he dips it in the water and he tastes. He now knows more about Lake Superior than he did before. He has experienced it. But ... he doesn't know Lake Superior. We need to grasp the magnitude of Christ's love ... love beyond comprehension. It is laid hold of by means of the Spirit's work. It is accomplished "according to the power at work within us" (Eph 3:20). What power is that? It is the power of God "who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think." Good thing ... we can ask or think a lot. He can do more. And it is at work in us. To enable us to grasp the love. Because ... we don't. And we need to.
1 comment:
A common thing we see in Scripture, and often miss, is the different types of "know". We should know the love of Christ as deeply and clearly as Adam knew Eve. We can know about His love, but when we've gone deep into who He is and his we love Him and He loves us is when we will know His love.
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