Ephesians 3:14-19 ERV, “So I bow in prayer before the Father.  Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him.  I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit.  I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray 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, how long, 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 everything God has for you.”

What a beautiful yet powerful prayer that Paul prayed for us. He asked Father to make us strong in our spirits through His Spirit, strong in love. As I thought of this, my mind went back to I John 4:8, that anyone who does not love, doesn’t know God because God is love. Love seems to be a key to a lot of things in the Bible. It even says that the world will know we are Christians by our love.

One popular music artist sang, “What’s love got to do with it, got to do with it? What’s love, but a second-hand emotion.” Obviously, he had little understanding of God, yet by our actions, so go some of us. We place such little value on the largest of all character traits a Christian should possess, love. Not only should we possess it, it should possess us, or rather, HE should possess us. Imagine with me for a moment, how different our world would be if everything we did or said was motivated by love. 

In Matthew 10:8, Jesus was sending out his disciples to the surrounding villages to announce the Kingdom of God. In this verse, he has told them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead but he qualifies it with this statement; freely you have received, freely give. It struck me this morning that we should love like this. Be strong to love, love those who hurt you and do you wrong. Don’t just love those who love you, that’s easy! Find the vilest of the vile and love them. Choose the hardest person to love and just watch the love of God break the tough exterior away and reveal their need for Love.

That’s what happened to us, after all. God loved us so much, he broke down the walls we had surrounded ourselves with and wrapped us in His amazing love. Hurt, broken, wounded, stinky, crusty with hate, masking our need with drugs, alcohol, porn, food, money, anything to make the hurt go away. Yet God loved us so much that he made a way for us to come to Him so that He could show us love. It’s the one thing satan hates the most because once a person experiences the love of God, it changes them forever. We were made to love. It’s not attached to rules or laws, it’s free of all that. 

Paul ends his prayer with this; “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, how long, 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 everything God has for you.”

Did you see that? Then you can be filled with everything God has for you. It comes through love! We seek for what we need when all we need is love. Seeking love and giving love opens us up to everything God has for us. Remember the saying, ‘Love isn’t love till you give it away’? Well, the more we give love, the more love is given to us. It’s the law of sowing and reaping in a nutshell. You just can’t out give love. Whew! I’m not holding back anymore. I’m going to love lavishly, just like God loves me. It’s only then I am truly His disciple.

Father, I lay aside my need to be right and live selfishly. I want to be what you created me to be, love. Please possess me. Make me like you. Fill me to overflow so that I may be a river of your love to others around me. To be a reflection of who you are to a world that needs love. It’s the only way because it’s Your way. Make me burn with love, like you’ve lit me with a match and I’m on fire. May my imperfections be hidden by your glorious love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen