Continuing his reflection on Ephesians 3:14-19 in Chapter 11 of Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Timothy Keller states that the word grasp means “to wrestle”- to jump on someone, wrestle that person to the ground, and knock the person out. The word grasp might seem, Pastor Keller notes, a very strange word to use when talking about God’s love. But Paul means that we need to meditate and ponder a truth until we break through, or until it “hits” us.
Pastor Keller states that in Ephesians 3:18 Paul is proposing a way to meditate, inviting us to do it by grasping how wide, long, high, and deep God’s love is:
1. How wide is the love of God? Pastor Keller emphasizes that if Jesus died on the cross so that we are saved by grace alone, then God’s love is infinitely wide. It is wide enough for us.
2. How long is the love of God? As the author observes, God’s love “has begun in the depths of time and will last into eternity.” It is infinitely long.
3. How deep is the love of God? In order to genuinely understand the depths of God’s love, we need to know the depths to which Jesus Christ went in order to love us. God’s love is infinitely wide and long because its infinitely deep.
4. What is the height of God’s love? The Father will show us His glory, and is going to give us that glory. That is the height of God’s love. It is infinitely high.
Today’s question: What Scriptures have enabled you to grasp the love of God following your vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Beholding Christ’s glory”
