Knowing a Love That is Beyond Knowing
You’re familiar with oxymorons: two contradictory words placed together.
- open secret
- clearly confused
- act naturally
- jumbo shrimp
- pretty ugly
- minor crisis
I found a wonderful oxymoron in the book of Ephesians:
“I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:17-19).
Paul prayed for us to know something beyond our knowledge. If God’s love is beyond our knowledge, how can we know it?
Yet, if we could fully comprehend God’s love—the depth of it—how deep and wonderful would it really be?
God possesses two key attributes: holiness and love. It amazes me that God in all His holiness chooses to love us when we are so unholy. Yet here we are: infinitely loved by an infinitely holy God. So, let’s address this oxymoron.
We can know God’s love, but we will never fully know it. Those among us who make an annual trek to the beach enjoy swimming in the ocean. But no one swims in the entire ocean. It’s that way with God. His love is immense. We can swim our entire lives in the waves of His love, but we will never fully comprehend, see, or experience the full depth of His love. Yes, we can know God’s love, but we will never know it to its full measure.
My prayer:
“Lord, my love has limits, but Yours does not. I know You love me but help me to know that on an ever-deeper level. I want to know more than the fact You love me; I want to walk in that love. After all, the Greek word Paul used means to know something by experience. And that’s how I want to know Your love. I want to experience it … be immersed in it … be consumed by it.
“Thank You for loving me in spite of my rebellious ways. You continually bring me back to You. You continually bless my life with good things, far beyond anything I deserve. No, let me correct that. ‘Far beyond’ implies there are some things I do deserve. The truth is I don’t deserve anything—and yet You don’t just allow me to exist; you bless me abundantly.
“Would I still love You if You took all these things from me? Father, it is easy to gauge my happiness on the things You do for me, but I want my joy to be centered in You, not just in what You provide. Thank You for Your presence, Your joy, and Your very life in me.
“You pour out on me a love so deep it is beyond my comprehension. I dive into Your love and never touch bottom.”
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).
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This post supports the study “The Love Expressed in God’s Name” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.
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