Written by our Europe Program Lead
"For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And 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" - Ephesians 3:14-19
What works against you in grasping Christ's love for you?
When I think about this question, my answers create a long list, sadly. My sin, fear of rejection, not being good enough, not being faithful enough, being a burden, seeing and experiencing broken relationships, feelings of shame. In my head, I know the Lord loves me unconditionally, but that list creates a wall in my heart. I let all of those earthy feelings, life experiences, and relationships get in between Him and I, which hinders my experience of His love for me. Ephesians 3:14-19 talks of the measure of His love for us. How wide and long and high and deep it goes. How do I experience that depth? How do I break down this wall in my heart that separates us? I think Blackaby said it well in his Experiencing God book, "What we believe about God's love for us will reflect in how we relate to Him. You will not trust Him if you do not love Him. And you will not love Him unless you know Him."
We must know Him to experience the depth of His love. It seems like an obvious answer, but sometimes it's hard to practice. I must "kneel before the Father" daily in prayer, I must soak my mind in scripture, I must be rooted in Him, I must worship Him, I must repent.
Our team this summer is focused on knowing and experiencing the Father's love through Ephesians 3. Pray we know Him more deeply this summer!
