Apr 24-25, 2021
From the Pastor’s Desk: Pastor Karen Quan
Eph. 3: 17- 19: NIV “….17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, BEING ROOTED AND ESTABLISHED in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and how high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
As mentioned in my contribution in Jan. 2021, the entire Children’s Ministry has been focusing on this passage for the entire ministry year. Here are some thoughts related to Eph. 3:18.
“POWER” What is our idea of power? These days, I can feel powerless to the constant changing of COVID measures & resulting impact. But this passage reminds me that with Christ dwelling in our hearts, we do have power – the power of God’s love through the Holy Spirit! And this power isn’t only within me, but is also in the lives of “all the saints” which are fellow believers. I have experienced this power through prayer, whether on Zoom Calls in Breakout Rooms or praying as an individual alongside others who are many kilometres from where I am, I have been knowing this power in increasing measure. This power from the Holy Spirit has been fueling my inner life, particularly with regards to the difficult and hard news of loss, heartache and things that are beyond my ability to bear.
“WIDE”…spanning from East to West …… “LONG”..stretching endlessly….. “HIGH” …moving in an upwards direction…
“DEEP”…going down to the depths of the ocean/earth………The arrows in the image above help me to see that it basically reflects in every single direction possible… “IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST” ….. It’s no wonder that the author uses the term “to grasp”… how can I grab hold of this idea? It’s like trying to get my arms around an enormous package…no matter which way I try to hold onto the box, I just can’t get a solid grip!
This multi-directional love of Christ, is generously offered to me, if only I could have a good hold or have my hands solidly capture this incredible love. And the most shocking little word that ties all of these directions together….. AND……which appears not once but 4 times in this verse. Could it be to reference the 4 directions? All I know is that it leads me to think upon the limitlessness of such love.
While we are called to be physically apart during this pandemic, may we each richly experience this all encompassing love of Christ. AND then having it take hold in our hearts, move out of our comfortable circles to share it with others in new and creative ways…..