“I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:16-18
Do you remember your first love?
Maybe you were in grade school. Maybe it was junior high. Even if you can’t remember your age, you probably remember the feeling.
You wanted him or her to notice you. Maybe you picked a flower and pulled the petals off one-by-one and chanted, “He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not . . . oh, just one more petal please. Disappointed, you threw the treacherous stem to the ground.
But then you grew up—hopefully—to realize that love can’t be measured by the number of petals on a flower.
I can remember when my sons were young. We would play a game. They would ask me, “Mama, how much do you love us?”
I would hold my hands about two feet apart and say, “This is how much I love you.”
“Is that all?”
I’d laugh and move my hands farther apart. Again, they would ask, “Is that all, Mama?”
This game would continue until my arms would stretch as far as they could. Then, I would reply. “My love for you can’t be measured.”
I now have two grandbabies. I think the sweetest words I have ever heard are, “I love you Nana.”
I recently bought my granddaughter the classic book “Guess How Much I Love You?”
The story’s plot revolves around Little Nutbrown Hare asking Big Nutbrown Hare, “Guess how much I love you?” to which he replies, “Oh, I don’t think I could guess that.”
As the little hare uses different ways to show how much he loves Big Nutbrown Hare, the older rabbit always replies with a demonstration of his own love. By the last page, we find out that the little hare’s love for the bigger hare is very hard to measure.
At the end of the story, the little hare looks out into the dark night and says, “I love you right up to the moon,” to which the big hare replies, “That is very, very far.”
As the little rabbit drifts off to sleep, Big Nutbrown Hare leans over and kisses him good night. His final words are, “I love you right up to the moon—and back.”
How much can you love someone? We don’t have to guess how much we are loved by God. We can fall asleep at night secure that His love for us is beyond measure.
Can you grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ? Look at the cross. See his outstretched arms. Guess how much He loves you.