In Love

     Paul called the Ephesians to be "holy and without blame before Him (the Lord)  in love.  Ephesians 1:4.  He went on to explain that God saved us because He is "rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us", Ephesians 2:4.  In the wake of all of this almost unbelievable love, Paul envisioned a Christianity wholly governed by its self-abandoning influence.  He even developed a list of the areas of life that will be positively affected as we abide in the light of God's love.
    *  We are to relate to one another in love.  Ephesians 4:2.
    *  We are to speak "the truth in love.  verse 15.
    *  We are to edify the church in love.  verse 16.
    *  We are to walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us. Ephesians 5:2
    *  We are to conduct our marriages in love. verse 25.
    We could go on to highlight the same emphasis in Paul's other epistles and letters. At the heart of all he preached we find the central theme of God's love poured out through Christ.  If the great apostle were alive today and we could ask him for a one sentence summary of his message, he might say something like this:
   Through the cross of Christ God demonstrated His matchless love toward us in order to move and empower us to cease living for ourselves and to live for His glory in conscious response to His love.  (Adapted from Romans 5:8 and 2 Corinthians 5:14,15.)
    The practical question must arise, "How are we to receive into our hearts and experience in our daily living the power of God's love?"  Until we answer this vital question all our talk about the love of God is just that--mere talk. The Lord intends that His love be far more to us than an emotionally stimulating idea.  He wants it to be an experiential reality for us, to touch every aspect of our lives with healing, overcoming power.
    But how?  Let's get practical.
    In Paul's Ephesians 3 prayer we an extremely clear answer to our question.  Three times, with different words, he makes known the medium through which we may receive God's love.  In verse 17 he prayed that we would be "rooted and grounded in love."  In verse 18 he pleads that we would be able to "comprehend" God's love.  In verse 19 he asks that we would "know the love of Christ.
   According to Paul, God's love seeks entrance into our hearts through the medium of comprehension.  He believed that the perceptive faculties of the mind must be aroused to understand the singular quality and true greatness of divine love in order for its benefits to be realized.  He expected, as a result, that previous untapped moral power would spring forth to shape and govern our practical lives.
 
    (I hate to quit here it is getting so good, but tomorrow will come and it will be just as good.  This book has helped me so, I hope with all my heart that it is helping you.  Keep praying for understanding and comprehension of God's love and He will answer.  Grandma Joan)