Love
The essence of our calling is summed up in a single word: Love. In a world that has romanticized and sexualized love, the church has a beautiful opportunity to show the love of God Himself. Yet, each local church must ask, “Have we confused being ‘nice’ or ‘neighborly’ for being truly loving? Do the people of our community see us as a loving people? Are we dependent upon the Spirit to live His loving fruit through us?”
What does Love in our lives look like? What if it looked like a Starbucks coffee shop?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_dZTrjw9I
Did you see the love of Christ here?
Here are the scriptures I will be looking at for the next few blogs. This is the last one on love hope you enjoyed (loved) this series on the C&MA mission of love proclaim, reach, and launch mission statement.
Matt. 22:34–40; Luke 6:27–36; John 13:34–35, 15:9–17; Rom. 5:5–8, 13:8–10; Gal. 5:6, 13–14, 22; Eph. 3:14–19
For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 MKJV)
This is a double WOW bookend verse.
WOW! The trinity is here, I bow my knee to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and to be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit. In this verse we are to be rooted and grounded in love. Our roots in God’s word, church, fellowship, and prayer bring us the nutrition we need to comprehend the breadth, length, depth, height and love of Christ that passes knowledge and an added benefit is to be filled with all the fullness of God. WOW!
It seems to be incomprehensible. But there is one thing that seems to express the love of God through Jesus Christ.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus tells us there is no greater love than to lay down His life for us. This is the length of God’s love for us. The breadth of God’s love can be found in Philippians chapter 2.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man,” Here the Breadth is God leaving heaven and all its glory and made himself of no reputation even a servant to His own creation standing a breadth to mankind. We can see the length of His love here as well. His hands stretched on the cross. The length which covers all mankind’s sin, past, present, and future.
The depth is the obedience in which He humbled Himself. The death and burial of His life for ours. By grace (God’s redemption at Christ’s expense) are you saved through faith. (see Ephesians 2:8-10). Praise be to God that through is propitiation He is exalted and every knee shall bow and confess He is Lord of all.
He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. {fashion: or habit} Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (Philippians 2:5-10 KJV)
So that leaves the Height. I think John chapter 16 and verse 7 tells us the height “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
It is the ascension of Jesus Christ back to heaven that provides us with the parakletos, The comforter, (an intercessor, consoler: –advocate, comforter.) The indwelling Holy Spirit Who comes to live in our hearts and be the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in our everyday life. Christ’s lives in every believer all over His creation. He is with you and He will never leave you nor forsake you. To know the breadth, length, depth, and height of God’s love for His creation is the knowledge of His agape love for us. (unconditional love). In that while we were yet sinner Christ died for us. God sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall be saved and have eternal life. It is a gift of God not of man. It is the undeserved gift from God to man that is received by faith.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:9-13 KJV)
Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? Do you Know the breadth, length, depth and height of his love for you? Get grounded on His word and find salvation through Jesus our Lord and Savior. You too can “know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
The next devotion will be on the C&MA mission statement Proclaim
In Christ,
Greg