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. Ephesians 3:18
In our world, many of us say, “I love you” often. We use it so often that the word “love” loses its significance. Make no mistake, however, to be loved is no small thing. To be loved impacts our demeanor. It gives security. It gives confidence. If the love of imperfect human beings has such an impact, the love of a perfect, unwavering God is infinitely more powerful in the lives of those who have placed their faith in Him.
The apostle Paul reminded readers just how much God loves them in Ephesians 3. Following his prayer that believers would be strengthened and empowered, he prayed that believers would "have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is" (verse 18). As Paul was writing the book of Ephesians, he could not stop himself from praying that believers would be able to grasp God's love fully. According to Paul, God's great love is long, high, deep, and wide. It is the greatest love we could ever experience. This love of God for us roots us, doesn’t it? It brings us confidence and security. It also informs our identities. When we live completely rooted in God’s love, we are confident and view ourselves the way God does, as His beloved. children. Fully comprehending and believing the magnitude of God’s love makes all of the difference. Paul stated that when we grasp God’s great love for us, we are complete with the “fullness of life and power that comes from God” (verse 19).
Paul's prayer that readers would fully grasp God's love was for you. He wanted you to understand just how deep God's love is. God's love is so great that He withheld nothing when it came to rescuing you. In fact, because of His love, God the Father sent His one and only beloved son to die on the cross for your sins. My friend, you are fiercely, deeply, and greatly loved by God. What a marvelous truth. The God of the universe who created everything loves you. And Paul taught in Romans 8 that “nothing in all creation” can separate you from God’s deep, abiding love (verses 38-39). May you live your life rooted in God’s great love for you.
Read Romans 8:38-39 out loud three times. Read it loudly, boldly, and confidently. As you read, let the truth from this passage of Scripture sink deep into your mind so that you can grasp how fiercely loved you are by God the Father. Then, like Paul, pray that God would help you to grasp just how expansive His love is for you. You are dearly loved. Walk in that love today!
Romans 8:31-39
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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