God’s Personal Love

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

Most Christians understand God’s love on a grand scale. Growing up, we learned from John 3:16 that “God so loved the world” — and He does. He loves all people and He demonstrated that love by sending Jesus to die for us (Romans 5:8).

For many of us it’s easier to comprehend and accept this grand-scale love than it is to grasp the fact that He loves us as individuals. He loves you. He loves me.

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” says the Sunday school song you may have learned growing up. But have you ever let that really soak in?

It’s an age-old exercise, but sometimes it helps just to take a verse like John 3:16 and personalize it. Put your name in place of the broader terms like “the world.” Try it now, preferably out loud, and include verse 17 at the same time:

For God so loved [my name] that He gave His one and only Son, that [if I believe in him, then I] shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn [me][me] through Him.

Think about that. The eternal, almighty, all-knowing Author of the universe loved you and me enough to sacrifice His very own Son in order to pay the penalty we owed for our sin and to open the door of Heaven to us. We are truly loved in ways that go beyond words! Or, as today’s passage puts it, in a way that “surpasses knowledge.”

In fact, let’s take those verses and personalize them as well:

I pray that [I][I] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:17-19

Moment of Truth

God is not just the Creator of the universe; He’s the One who lovingly knit you together in your mother’s womb. He’s not just the Redeemer of humankind; He’s the lover of your soul who came in the person of Christ to pay your ransom and adopt you into His family. “Yes, Jesus loves [your name]!”

Excerpted from The Case for Christ Daily Moment of Truth by Lee Strobel, copyright Lee Strobel.

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Your Turn

How wide, long, high, deep is the love of Christ for you? It’s immeasurable! You personally. You’re the one He loves! Let’s take that in today and thank Jesus for His unrelenting love! Come share your thoughts on our blog. We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily