DEVOTION – DAY 252

Ephesians 3:16-18 “Showing Christ-like Love”

 

Ephesians 3:16-18 “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 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.”

 

The apostle Paul offers to pray for the Philippians and all believers to be rooted and established in love. Why is it important that believers are rooted and established in love? That is because God is love. Out of God’s great love, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ who came from heaven to live for a while as an ordinary human being. God’s love is as high as Heaven is from earth. The distance is immeasurable as His love is immeasurable. God’s love is wide, because He sent His Son to die for the sins of everyone who would believe in Him as Lord and Savior – it is as wide as this whole world. God’s love is long because God planned our salvation out if His love for us from the beginning of time when Adam and Eve committed the first sin. God’s love is deep because it is His love that reaches to lift us up and out of the deepest clutches of Satan and sin by redeeming believers.

 

Once we begin to realize and appreciate the love of God, His love through the power of the Holy Spirit begins to change us from the inside, to start showing Christ’ love to others. As I look back on the past, to the people that God sent to tell me about Jesus – they all went out of their ways to show me love. They were prepared to spend their time to patiently explain and answer my searching questions about Jesus and the truth that is in the Bible. They were willing to put up with my objections and excuses for not having time for them. They continued to pray for my salvation. They used their own money to give me a Bible, to give me gospel tracts. They went out of their ways to treat me to meals, to befriend me. They showed kindness and patience and they never gave up on me. Though I never properly thanked any of them for their love to me, the memory of their Christ-like love stuck in my mind. And I finally said the sinners’ prayer and opened my heart to receive Jesus. And now, it is my turn to be rooted and established in love, to show and share Christ-like love to others so that they will also come to know how wide, long, high and deep is the love of Christ.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we worship you because you are abounding in love. Thank you for loving us first whilst we were still sinners. Thank you for redeeming us from the penalty for our sins. Please help us to be rooted and established in the love of Christ, so that we can be channels of your blessings to the people in our lives. In the blessed name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. Who were the people in your lives that have made an impact about Jesus on you? How have they done that? Share and Discuss.
  2. How have their love for you motivated you to show the same love to the unbelievers in your lives?
  3. How prepared are you to show sacrificial love to others, even those who are not lovable or difficult in your lives?
  4. What does being rooted and established in love mean to you?