And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you. Ephesians 3:14-20
Undoubtedly we all love our kids. No question about that. And undoubtedly, if you’ve ever considered the depths of love you have for your children, you’ve discovered a thing or two about how deeply God loves us as well.
Think about ways that you demonstrate to your children just how much you love them. It might look pretty mundane like laundering their clothes when they come home or cooking them their favorite meal when they visit. Or it might also be a bit more expensive like helping pay their school bills or repairing their car. Or you might even put them over the moon by giving your son tickets to the Superbowl with their three best friends for Christmas!
Isn’t this how God loves us? He loves us in all sorts of small, mundane ways every day. He loves us by giving us each breath we take. He loves us by giving us the strength we need to complete the work set before us every day. He loves us by “letting us stumble” on that sale item that we’ve been needing to get but just haven’t yet.
And He loves us in some pretty significant ways on many days. He loves us by delaying us so that we don’t become the car involved in the accident that just happened. Or giving our friends or spouses the exact words we’ve been needing to hear just when we need it. He loves us extravagantly. All the time. He went so far as making sure His Son died an ugly death even though He was perfect in all things in order that He might become our perfect sacrifice. He freed us from the horrifying consequences of eternal separation from Him!
Though it doesn’t get any bigger than that, He wants to pour out His love and grace on us every day - in all the mundane and lavish ways He can! That’s what daddy’s do. That’s what Papa God does!!!!!!
In our passage today Paul prays that “the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.” (Ephesians 3:17) If our lives are not characterized by the indwelling of God’s love we are missing out!!!! Yet I know that as I look back over my life, I have often doubted God’s love for me (and still do occasionally). I’ve felt as though I were going it alone. I wasn’t resting in His love and allowing it to rest in me. And if that has been my experience, I’m betting it may have been yours too, at least at some point.
So as we pray for each other and our sons this week, let’s ask Papa God to continually reveal His love in each of us in glorious ways! Pray that we experience “the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions.” And pray we experientially know God’s “endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding — until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!” (Ephesians 3:18-19) There’s no limit to God’s extravagant love. Let’s pray that all of us abide fully in it.