Ephesians _3
Scripture
Ephesian 3 : 16 - 19
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.
Observation
Paul is writing to the Ephesians from prison encouraging them to know the love of God.
Understanding
This time we are living in is definitely starting to get to me. Being isolated can take a toll on anyone, even on the strongest of people. I cant help to think what Paul must have felt like to be isolated, in some cases for years at a time. And still he wrote from prison encouraging others. In humility, he knew his true condition, “ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people…”( Eph. 3:8).
I wondered what was able to keep him going. What brought joy to his heart that he was able to write with such passion from prison? You can hear it in his voice as you read the letter. I can imagine him writing with vigor and excitement.
I imagine it's like when two people have fallen in love with each other and you still live separately while you wait to marry. You spoke on the phone for hours with such passion. You wrote letters filled with joy and excitement. You are unable to see them or live with them but what keeps you filled with joy, what keeps you going … knowing their love for you and your love for them.
I think it's knowing God's love that will keep us going.
Knowing God's love will keep us going through all challenges that will come our way.
Application
I love this passage of scripture. It immediately brought to mind one of my favorite writings from a dear friend of mine who is now with Jesus in heaven. It describes so perfectly how I feel about knowing His love and I hope it does the same for you.
"My Dream...To know the depth and the height, the heat and the breath of His love. The kind of knowing that weakens my every strength; that distracts and confuses my every thought; that brings me to my knees when I want to stand high; that turns my running to rest; my rambling to silence; my fears to trust.The knowing that makes everything that once was big seem so small, and what was so small become more beautiful than ever before. Knowing that creates laughter, orders madness, moves the sloth, silences the gossip, frees the bound, heals the hurt, protects the child; And so knowing Him and His love is the beginning and end of all things...To dream without it would be a nightmare” - Karen Nita
My hope for myself and you is that we use this time of isolation to get alone with God and to fully know his love for us and our love for him.
Deborah Lee