Charles Stanley (January-05-2024) Daily Devotional: To Be Established in Love.
Jesus made it possible for us to understand how precious we are to our heavenly Father.
Ephesians 3:17-19 - so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God
When it comes to stability, everything depends on the supporting substructure. Most trees extend their roots two or three times as wide as their foliage. And the tallest skyscraper in the world has a foundation that goes down over 160 feet.
The root—or foundation—of the Christian life is God’s love. His love is what makes our love possible, and it became knowable in Jesus Christ.
In today’s passage, this is what Paul has in mind as he brings his prayer to a close. He asks that the Ephesians—empowered by the Spirit and encouraged by Christ’s indwelling presence—would base themselves in love. He also prays that their understanding of God’s love would grow together “with all the saints” who have believed and entrusted themselves to Jesus (v. 18).
This love of Christ is a boundless ocean deep enough to drown all our sins (Micah 7:19 - He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea). Though it is “too great to understand fully,” Paul wants the Christians at Ephesus—and us—to have the power to grasp “the width and length and height and depth” of this great foundation (Eph. 3:18-19 NLT) so we can rest secure. Then we can pray without ceasing that countless more believers be added to our number.
