The Heights and Depths of AGAPE
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have 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 knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
—Ephesians 3:17-19
The love of God transformed my life. About ten years ago, God began to give me fresh revelation of what the AGAPE (love) of God is truly like. Little by little, He began to show me the power of AGAPE to transform, heal, and bring boldness to any heart. As I learned the unfailing nature of His love for us, it was like the dawning of a brand new day.
Over the past several years, God has taken that revelation of AGAPE deeper, broader, and farther than I ever dreamed. I keep going deeper and higher into His love and find there is no end. His love is higher than the tallest peak and deeper than the deepest ocean. AGAPE is unending. The light of His love keeps getting brighter.
Paul prays for the Ephesians in the scripture above to know the AGAPE of God in all its depth, height, and breadth. This is my prayer for you and me as well.
Many of us believe we already understand God’s love. The children’s song told us this when we were little:
Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but He is strong
Yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so
What I have discovered is that we may hear these words, “Jesus loves me,” but our hearts don’t deeply grasp the truth. Our lives reveal that we don’t really know what this means. We run about striving anxiously as orphans trying to get God to do stuff or trying to make things work out for our good. We don’t know what it means to live in trust and confidence that God truly is a Good, Good Father. We don’t know the rest and abiding of AGAPE.
My own journey in learning about AGAPE has been slow and steady with a few lightning bolts of power along the way. A few things I know for sure: His love is real, it is eternal, and it does not fail.
God’s love is extended to all of us. He will teach us about His love if we will humble ourselves and learn from Him.
I want to invite you to join me on a journey of discovering the love of God through our Foundation Classes at BRVC. I don’t know a lot of things, but I am fully convinced that the main thing God wants for us and through us is love. The two great commandments, Love God and Love Others, are the foundational concepts on which all of Scripture is built. Come learn what AGAPE means with us. Come discover a freedom that only love can provide.
Paul’s promise to the Ephesians is that when they learn the riches of AGAPE they will be filled with all the fullness of God. What a promise! What a gift! God’s fullness overflowing in us and through us to others. I want that reality every day of my life. It is possible through the unfailing AGAPE of God.
May the love of God fill you and bless you today!
—Pastor Tom