Rooted in Love
by Angie Thomas
One thing that really stuck out to me reading through Ephesians 3 is how deeply Paul wanted the Ephesians to know God’s deep, extravagant love for them. He prays in Ephesians 3:17 that they would be “rooted and ground in love.” Is your mind continually rooted in the knowledge of God’s love for you or do you find yourself thinking God’s love is conditional on how well you are doing at getting it right?
I will confess it is a continual struggle for me. Exhibit A. Recently I got up at 5:45 to feed Ned and as I came back to bed I really wanted to spend time with the Lord, but I thought, “I will just sleep for another 30 minutes and then get up.” I woke up almost 2 hours later and immediately felt the remorse and guilt sweep over me as I knew the sweet time I had wanted with the Lord was gone. I confessed to the Lord my sorrow in missing that time with Him, but then had to fight those feelings of guilt with the truth that God still loves me deeply and that perhaps He would provide another time during the day to spend with Him.
I believe Paul knew personally the struggle to understand God’s love for us because he prayed in Ephesians 3:18-19 that they would have strength to comprehend the height, depth, breadth, and length of this love and he explained that it would surpass their knowledge and understanding. This love is about way more than just how you “feel” in your relationship with God. It something that you have to apprehend in your mind through faith and by God’s grace.
Will you walk this out with me today? I am going to put this passage of Scripture on the Notes in my phone with a reminder to read it several times today and the days ahead, that God would begin to show and teach me how to be rooted and grounded in His love, in the midst of my sin and shortcomings.
May you be rooted and established in His love for you. Jesus didn’t sacrifice His life and conquer sin and death for us so that we could walk around in guilt and shame. Lord, help us begin to glimpse and grasp what it would mean to filled with all your fullness! Amazing!
Hungry for this relationship Paul spoke of in Ephesians 3:18,19. I miss it and so desperately want it back.
Thank you, Jessica, for taking the time to write. We are hungry for it too and are praying right now that the Lord would supply all your needs and that you would know His faithfulness to you. Blessings to you!