Paul the apostle was all about knowing Christ’s love for
us. It was the revelation of Christ and
His ever-increasing love that drove Paul forward to never stop preaching Christ
and Him crucified. I believe that we are
also called (as Paul was called) to be encountered by the love of Christ
in such a way that we are ruined for anything less.
The love of Christ is captivating, it is ever-expanding,
bringing us to depths beyond our ability to comprehend. It is that very love that embodies the power
of God, God’s power is the by-product of what works in us as we pursue His
love, the power to live a life overcoming all obstacles that hinders that flow.
It raises the question though, “how deep is God’s love?” I have
heard it said that ‘God’s love is as vast as an ocean, and we only have the
ability within ourselves to draw out small cupful’s at a time.’ Paul wants us to pursue this journey of
discovering God’s love regardless of what our ability is to draw from that love is,
he saw God as being greater than ourselves in so many ways.
Paul wanted us to discover how high, how deep, how wide, and
how long the love of God is, which is a lifetime pursuit. There are so many facets to God’s love that
no matter what our limitations are, God is able to do more than we could ever
ask or think to ask of Him to do, but we still need to ask.
We have been given authority over things like sin, sickness, pain, or anything that we can imagine that is contrary to the love of Christ, we can make a stand against these things and command that they obey the love of Jesus wherein is perfect love and wholeness.
I can’t begin to tell you how many times when I have been either sick or in pain that I have commanded my body to obey Christ and for the pain or sickness to be gone, and the pain or sickness would leave. I have prayed for others to be well in my home church and have seen the same results. Jesus is honored when we take a stand for His love which includes wholeness and healing, He is the great physician.
Sometimes there are underlying reasons for sickness which through discernment we can ask the Lord how to pray wisely and effectively. He is faithful to lead us in the right direction so that we can address the proper cause and speak to the immediate need that brings healing and restoration. This is another example of the depths of His love for us by utilizing the gifts of the spirit we have been given and putting them to their proper use.
I believe that one of the most misunderstood aspects of God’s
love is our position with Christ, we are to rule and reign with Him on this earth. That doesn’t mean we become an authoritarian
and begin commanding people to do our bidding, however, it does mean we become like
servants as Jesus was a servant and we begin loving people as He loved people. We have so much to offer with the knowledge we have gained by our engagement with our church community, we have been equipped to serve others and share our knowledge of God and of the love and mercy he has shown us to give away to everyone we encounter.
This is where the greatness of Christ’s love is put on
display that we may be living examples of His love for all to see, it is that testimony
that captured the hearts of the early church when people from the outside would see the church's interaction with one another, it was Christ in action loving as only He could love.
One of the most profound comments ever made regarding the early church came from a man named Aristides, sent by Emperor Hadrian to spy out those strange people known as "Christians." Having seen them in action, Aristides returned with a mixed report. But his immortal words to the emperor have echoed down through history: "Behold! How they love one another."
One of the most profound comments ever made regarding the early church came from a man named Aristides, sent by Emperor Hadrian to spy out those strange people known as "Christians." Having seen them in action, Aristides returned with a mixed report. But his immortal words to the emperor have echoed down through history: "Behold! How they love one another."
It is then, as Paul stated in Ephesians 3:19 as we love one another through our pursuit of Christ “…we can be filled with all that God has for us.” It is all about the pursuit and our desire for Christ that we become like Him and love others as He does.
Be Blessed;
Stephen Barnett
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