“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 3:17-18)
The whole idea of these verses is profound and beautiful . . . and odd. Since when do you need power to “grasp” or understand something? We would usually say that you need intelligence or wisdom to grasp a big idea. But Paul prays for power – enormous power directly from God himself.
That (and tomorrow’s verse) tells us that the immense “love of Christ” is beyond our ability to understand with our minds, no matter how smart or wise we are. It’s like asking the plant, rooted in the earth, to understand how vast the earth is.
If we’re going to carry around any understanding of the long, high, deep, wide love of Christ, we’ll need a power source beyond that of our own minds that will allow us to get a handle on it.
Why does it matter? Because the fact that God loves us in Christ is what matters most of all. Because it’s a love that never runs out and looms infinitely larger than anything we can imagine that might separate us from it.
Think: Can you think of any other examples of ideas or concepts that require an external power to understand? Does it bother you that there are truths in God’s universe that we can’t figure out with mere human intelligence and reason?
Pray: Pray for yourself and a friend that you would have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.
Do: Read more about this powerful love in Romans 8:31-39.