Know The Love Of Christ

Alba 3-12-2023

KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST

Ephesians 3:14-19

A woman named Phyllis W. Zeno, a contributor to 10 Chicken Soup books, wrote the following story: “One day a beautiful, but very troubled little girl came through the door of my day nursery.

From the very beginning I was captivated by her – a child who had so little but needed so much. I was heartbroken that a four-year-old could suffer such heartache and pain.

She was born in prison after her mom had used marijuana, crack and cocaine her entire pregnancy. The little girl was nonverbal and had very little control. Whenever somebody approached her, she became violent for long periods and ended up in a fetal position on the floor crying out.

I found myself praying for her day in and day out. As months rolled on, I began to bond with this child that no one wanted. Every day, we’d sit in the big rocking chair in my office, swaying back and forth and back and forth. And during our rocking time I sang to her: "Jesus Loves Me." As I sang, she always settled down and became very still. Though she never spoke, peace seemed to fill her face as she listened to the song.

One day after a very long battle I held her to calm her fears and pain. In silence we rocked back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth. Then she looked at me with tear-filled eyes and spoke for the first time, "Sing to me about that Man who loves me."

Doesn't everyone want to hear about someone who loves them? To know you are loved by someone is the best news anyone can hear. That message in found in the Bible, God's Holy Word. Again and again, the message of love is told through the pages of scripture. It is there that God makes clear the greatness of His love for us in Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul is so amazed that God's love includes all people, Jew and Gentile alike, that he offers a prayer of praise and writes these words in Ephesians 3:14-19.

"14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Paul's prayer is a prayer for all Christians. We all need the strength that comes from God's Spirit within us. We all need a faith that puts Jesus first in our hearts.

And we need to know the love of Christ which is so wide, and long and deep and high that it passes knowledge. But if it passes knowledge, it is fair to ask, how can we know it?

Well, first we must be rooted and grounded in love, meaning that we have a basic understanding that love is more than a feeling. It is a commitment that acts for the good of others.

That is the kind of love that God has for us.

And once we understand that, we can at least begin to comprehend the vastness of God's love for us through Jesus. Because there is no greater love.

When you encounter the love of Jesus, you can't get around it. His love for us is so wide, so long, so deep and so high! Paul's prayer for us is that we will begin to comprehend this great love. So let us try.

1. First, the love of Jesus is wide. How wide is His love? As wide as the world. “God so loved... “ (what?...) Yes, “the world.” There is no one left out. Because “whosoever” may call on the name of the Lord for salvation.

I John 2:2 says,“He Himself is the propitiation (meaning the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

The wideness of our Lord's love is all-encompassing. He truly does have the whole world in His hands. His love reaches all around the world. And He has more than enough love for you and for me.

God has enough love for Jews and Gentiles. God has enough love for blacks and whites and browns and yellows and everything in between. God has enough love for rich and poor, and even for middle class.