PLUMB THE DEPTHS! RISE TO THE HEIGHTS!

Such is God’s love. We can’t begin to fathom the dimensions of His love. We can, however, embrace His love through His Son, Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for our sake. Hallelujah!

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES  by Sally Bair

The dimensions of God’s love

We live in a multi-dimensional world. My experience crossing a rickety bridge in British Columbia proved that fact to me.

On a typical mountain hike, complete with heavy backpacks, my husband, Don, and I confronted a washed-out bridge. Recent rains had flooded the river beneath, washing away the complete upstream side of the railing and tilting the bridge at a dangerous angle. And we had to cross it. Yikes!

Fearful, I looked down at the swirling torrent, up at the empty and unhelpful sky, and over at the remaining railing that showed gaps and jagged pieces of wood. I didn’t like the dimensions. I wanted a sturdy, level floor to walk on with double railings to hang onto for support. I did cross the bridge—on my hands and knees while my husband carried my backpack across.

The river bridge is but a small example of the dimensions we see and experience every day. God has given us a vast variety of natural wonders to enjoy and use. Oceans and stars, fields and plains, forests and deserts. Elephants and ants, eagles and sparrows, whales and tadpoles. Some high, some low, some wide, some long.

The multi-dimensional wonders of nature are but a part of God’s gifts. His extravagance is also evident in His personality. His mercy and grace, for instance, show in His great love for us. The gift of salvation and healing came by the supreme, extreme sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Only through His Spirit can we truly comprehend and embrace such a gift.

The Message version of the Bible expresses St. Paul’s words well in Ephesians 3:14-18. “My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask Him to strengthen you by His Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite Him in. and I ask Him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.”

Such is God’s invitation to us. We can depend on the safety of His love, like that of the sturdy railing and floor of a bridge over dangerous water.

Lord, we thank You for Your extravagant, multi-dimensional gifts. Help us see beyond the dimensions of physical reality into Your realm of love and mercy. In Jesus’ name, amen.