Greatness of Christ’s Love
I have a new thing that I want to share with you. You can complain around me all that you want, but, you have to end your complaint by saying, “And that’s just the way I like it!” For example, “Oh, it’s so hot out here and that’s just the way I like it!” Or, “I don’t feel very good and that’s just the way I like it!”
I think the church at Ephesus had fallen into a routine where people had just gotten used to each other. Paul dearly loved that church and desired that there be unity in Christ and in the body of believers. He encouraged them through his writing found in Ephesians 3:16-19 (NCV):
“I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit. I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.”
I did a conference in what I call “middle America,” kinda where Missouri and Kansas come together. The young people at this conference had gone off to Kansas to paint a church. The folks at this conference provided someone to drive me out to Kansas and back, three hours one way and three hours back. I’m sitting in this van with my new friend, whom I will be driving with for six hours, and I quickly discover that he has this habit. He ends every single sentence by saying, “so.” For instance, “Yeah, I’ve got a wife and a couple of kids, sooo. Church is really important to me, sooo. Yeah, I work in a factory, sooo.” I sat there thinking, “Lord, if I have to listen to this for six hours I’m going to scream!” I perceived the Lord replying back to me, “Sooo!”
I did realize that this was merely a habit and this guy had no idea he was doing this. Paul had a habit, too. When Paul could not think of anything else to say, he would state, “now.” Read Ephesians 3:20-21:
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” If Paul had been a Southerner he would have said, “Right now give glory to God who right now by the power at work within you right now can do more with you right now then you ever dreamed or imagined. To that God be glory in Christ Jesus in the church forever and ever. Amen.”
You’re probably thinking, “Okay, Ben, if this is true then how come my life is just sooo? Why is it that I hurt so deeply inside? How come I don’t feel like anybody loves me or that I matter? Why do I keep repeating the same sin over and over again?” Do you know what part of the problem may be? You have grown so accustomed to feeling guilty, unloved, tired and beaten down that it is hard to conceive of a life that is abundantly more than you could ever imagine. The responsibility and choice is yours. You will either accept the greatness of Christ’s love for you or not. In a nutshell, you either believe His Word or you don’t.
