When I put my small kids to bed, the last thing I say is, “Mom and Dad love you.” Then I wait for their usual reply, “But Jesus loves me best.” It may seem like a mushy exchange but it is the truth. Young as they are, I would like to instill in them that they receive the best kind of love from the Creator of love. It also implies that there will be times parental love will fall short and during those times, I would want them to remember that God’s love is unchanging.
As I meditated on Ephesians 3:18, I got excited when I thought of how wide, how long, how high and how deep is that love directed towards us. I burst into thanksgiving as I reflected on this many dimensions and at the many insights it brought forth.
How wide. I drive and it is such a relief to be able to swing into a wide parking slot. I do not need to stress over fitting into a narrow spot. Maybe I am slightly claustrophobic but there is something comforting and stress-reducing about wider streets, wider passageways, and simply having a broad place to move. Crowds can be constricting. Clutter, irksome. But generous widths in relation to space can be a blessing.
When it comes to love, what does this imply? Wide love. Visually, I imagine arms outstretched and ready to welcome me, in whatever state I am. I remember how I was told at one time that I did not need to fix my life first before coming to Jesus, because it was His wisdom and strength that would do the fixing. Much like the thief on the cross that humbly asked Jesus to remember him. How forgiving and accepting Jesus was!
God’s wide love embraces all, whoever, wherever, whenever, both the best and worst in each of us. My son said, “It is so wide. God loves even those who don’t believe in Him.” And His wide love invites, not forces or pressure us to change but inspires us to turn to Him and away from the worst in us. Psalm 18:19 tells of God’s roomy love, “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
How long. If God were not patient with me, where would I be now? When I read the Old Testament, I feel so “spared” and at the same time ashamed at how I take God’s grace for granted. Accounts like the Great Flood, or when snakes were sent to discipline the grumbling crowd, leprosy to warn the rebellious, even, the earth swallowing an entire family!! It just dawned upon me that it is not too far from calamities that upset nations today. Despite rampant unfaithfulness in His creation, He shows compassion and continues to be slow to anger and rich in mercy, giving us the opportunity to repent.
More importantly, how long can also refer to what lengths God has gone to demonstrate His love for us. I remember Romans 5:8, “For God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” To think I am unworthy and unloved is an affront to Him who suffered and was forsaken for my sake. (Would I give up any of my children for a good person? Perhaps, but it will not be willingly. For a rebellious person? No comment.)
How high. As the song goes, “So high, can’t get over it.” I’ve always heard it said that we can never “outgive” God. We can never “outlove” Him either. Psalm 103:11 declares, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.” Immeasurable love.
Many occasions in the past, I would be astounded by God’s goodness. The moment I think that He has blessed me with so much I could not ask for more, He will yet surprise me with another blessing. Inexhaustible supply.
Not only is His love high but also His thoughts and ways are high. My kids play Lego and they build cities, role play using the different mini figures that live in their cities, always having a bird’s eye view and in steady control of every situation. Similarly, I know that God sees the entire spectrum. He is in charge, misses out on nothing and most definitely knows better than I.
And His purpose is to train me to think the way He does!
How deep. I have not experienced falling into any hole that I could not get out off. The deepest I have gone underground was when I had the opportunity to descend (about 70 steps) into the Luray Caverns in Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. And after a tour, we were guided to the exit.
But, many times, I have fallen into emotional pits of disappointment that can spiral downward into thoughts of resentment, disillusionment and self-pity. If not for the arms of God that are never too short to reach any depth, I would probably still be lost. And thank God for His Spirit that renews my mind and leads my depressing thoughts into all truth.
Psalm 139:8 says, “If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. How foolish is man to want to make his bed in the depths! And so amazing is God’s grace that we cannot run from His Presence. Just like the magnificent stalactite and stalagmite formations, the majestic chasms and stone pillars, and crystal clear waters that await every visitor in the chambers of Luray Caverns, God is my treasure in the deep. His penetrating Presence lifts me out of despondency.
Rejoice, for we are surrounded by His incredible love! No matter who you are, where you are, how you are, I wish you Ephesians 3:18, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
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