Rooted in Love - Together

 "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, 

being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend 

with all the saints what is width and length and depth and height - 

to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may 

be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19 NKJV)

 

    Paul's prayer for Christians was that they be rooted and grounded in love so that they, with their brethren, may comprehend the full extent of Christ's love.

    Have you ever been surprised at someone's capacity to love? Maybe you have received a kindness from a sister in Christ, or been shown mercy and sincere forgiveness when you have wronged a sister or brother and gone to them to make it right, or maybe you have felt the congregation envelop you with love and care when you have repented of and confessed sin, or when you asked for their prayers, or when you have gone through a great hardship?

 

    Each of these occasions - and so many others - help us comprehend Christ's love for us. When we love our brethren as we ought we will help them better understand Jesus' love for them.   

 

    Now, we all know that is so much easier to love those who love us or are loving toward us, but what about those among our brethren who are not that way? 

 

    Consider 1 John 4:10-11 for a moment: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." Just as God loved us before we learned to love Him, we also need to love our brethren even if or when they do not love us. Sincere love of our brethren is shown when we love as God loves: caring for and considering those who have not yet fully comprehended His love (Matthew 5:43-48). 

    What a gift the church is! The congregation in which we are members grants us abundant opportunities to learn love, to teach love, and to grow in love toward each other and especially toward Christ and God (Ephesians 4:15-16)!  Let us all be so rooted and grounded in love that everything we say and do will help each other better understand Christ's love and together we can better represent God's love to the world around us, so that more may come to know the love of God and discover the joys of being rooted and grounded in Him (1 John 4:7-9)! 

 

You can do it! So can I!!