encounter

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses all knowledge— that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

God loves us with an everlasting love— an agape love.

The fullness of God opens the eyes of our hearts to comprehend His glorious love that goes beyond our understanding. When we can grasp how deep and wide and long and high the love of Christ is, we can demonstrate this love for others.

The enduring love of God is the source and root of our lives. Only when we see that God has already set his love on us, prior to our obedience, can we then set out to love like Jesus. Only when we realize that we are already accepted by God can we begin to deal with the real reason we fail to obey him.

Agape-love is the sort of love God has for us whether we believe it or not. It’s the kind of love that says, “you did not choose me, but I chose you.” (John 15:16) It’s holy, sacrificial and unconditional. And it’s this kind of love we are invited to abide.
It’s not always easy— it may look like forgiveness where it doesn’t feel deserved. It may cost us our time, money and patience— but it makes us complicit in God’s redemptive plan to overcome the world with grace, mercy and peace.

In the fullness of his holy love, we may have the power, together, to keep the unity of peace in Christ.
To be poured out in humility for the sake of others, the way Jesus was for us.
God will work in us, according to his power, more than we are able to do on our own, more than we can even ask or imagine. (Ep 3:20) 

To him be the glory forever.

Practice:

prayer for others

Prayer is one of the most effective ways to invite Gods presence into our lives and the lives of others. Make a list of people you want to pray for this week. Pray for these people daily, interceding on their behalf for both spiritual and temporal needs. If there’s a difficult relationship in your life, (family member, colleague, friend etc.) ask God for the grace to see them as a gift. Pray for this person daily and experience how prayer changes your perspective of him or her. 

centering prayer

Jesus, enlighten the eyes of my heart so that I may know the fullness of Your love.