…to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19
Who needs some strengthening in their inner man right now?? Paul prays for us and teaches us along the way.
We are accepted. We have access. We are ever so loved.
Paul prays that we not only have head knowledge about the love of Christ, but he requests that we experience it firsthand. He asks that Jesus’ love would be well rooted and grounded in our lives, remaining steady in any storm.
Paul wants us to comprehend (Greek: katalambano) the depth, width, and height of Jesus’ love. Katalambano not only means to understand His unconditional agape love, but it also describes actively seizing, laying hold of it, and appropriating it to make it our own, to take it into one’s self. We experience His love because we are ardently pursuing it (Rev. 2:4-5).
That doesn’t mean working harder, trying to earn His love. It means taking alone time with the Lord for just being with Him in sweet communion where we ask our Father for the Holy Spirit’s felt presence and work within us (Ps. 27:4). There, He reveals His Son’s love in our heart’s emotions (Rom. 5:5). We will have fresh, daily revelation as we open God’s Word because we see it through His eyes of love instead of mere mental acknowledgment (Mt. 6:6). Then, our Christianity becomes a reality and not just a theory.
When God’s love overwhelms us, we will experience His fullness in our lives. Daily duties, work obligations, and even ministry no longer become chores to wade through because knowing the certainty of God’s love within us changes everything outside of us. Small blessings are magnified, miracles are more abundant, and trials become opportunities to see what He will do.
Take time to ask the Holy Spirit to examine your heart and mind to see where you are in your internal belief system that Jesus loves you. Most of us have struggled with this vital and imperative knowledge in the depths of our being. We can believe Jesus’ love for others, but for ourselves? Maybe, not so much.
He has poured out His love for us. Let’s receive and live in it – hook, line, and sinker.