…being rooted and established in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ~ Eph. 3:17b-19

Quick Sip

Love gets a bad rap nowadays. We love a hundred things a day, and commit to none. Or if someone says, we need to love everybody, we assume they mean accept everyone in a “I’m okay, you’re okay” fashion and leave it at that.

But in these verses Paul says we are to be rooted in love. Christ’s love. Why is that? Well, Paul turns right around and answers that question. So that we may “be filled with all the fullness of God.” So that we become more like God, and He can work through us.

Once we begin to grasp Christ’s love for us, it changes us and how we interact with those around us. For instance, I have been changed by the way my Mom treated me as a child. Daily lately, I run across a situation where I would really like to lash out in anger and frustration, but the fact that I remember my Mom acted differently stops me. I breath in…I breath out…And I think, “Oookay. How would she have handled this?”

Once we begin to grasp and gain insight into Christ’s love, it has the same effect. We run across situations with our family, with other Christians, or with non-Christians where we would love to react out of fear, anger, or frustration. But Christ’s love has begun to change us. We’re gaining an understanding of his love and now we’re beginning to be filled with the fullness of God. So we choose to act differently. We breath in…We breath out…And we think, “Oookay. How would Christ handle this situation?”

How do we even gain this understanding and insight? By spending time with him. If I had not and did not spend time with my Mom, I would have no idea how she might act in a given situation. It would not even occur to me to ask myself that question. The same is true of us and Christ. A weekly dose on Sunday is not enough. In order to be “filled with all the fullness of God…” we need to spend time with Him daily. We need to hang out with Him to learn how He thinks. Then He can do abundantly more through His power at work within us.

Full Cup

Eph. 3:14-21
John 13:1-17 (pay special attention to v.2 “He now showed them the full extent of his love…”