26 September 2021
Growing up, I was raised as a Christian. I always knew of God and how he sent His Son to die on the cross for us so that we could all be together one day in heaven. I knew God loved me for as long as I can remember. I knew that He cared for me, He would always protect me, and He would always be present. I knew that God was there whenever I needed Him and that is still the case today however it took me a very long time to get to this point of realisation.
Ephesians 3:18-20 from the NLT version says: “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think”.
Going through some challenging times in my late teens, I struggled to grasp the idea of God’s love. After losing a parent which is one of the very first loves you experience in this life, I was lost and hurt. I felt a void that could not be filled with anything no matter how much I tried. I remember not too long after my mum had passed, I cried out to God and said “I need You to be my everything right now. The emptiness and the void that I feel, I need You to give me strength and peace through it all.” Five and half years on, I am glad to say that God did stick to His promise (as He always does) and He did indeed give me the strength, the peace, AND the love that I needed. I was blessed that I had an amazing mum who had loved me enough to last a lifetime, but I also am extremely blessed that I have a Heavenly Father who loved me before I even knew Him. Even through all the hardships, His love was demonstrated in many different ways beyond my comprehension, but I most definitely felt the emptiness go away.
I think there’s something very special in the fact that God’s love cannot be measured because no matter how far or near we are to Him, His love for us never changes. I love how Paul wrote in verse 19: “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully”, this verse is just a reminder of how there is still many others out there who still need to experience God’s love just as much we have. Not only that, it also just shows that the magnitude of God’s love goes beyond our wildest imaginations. May we all remember we ALWAYS have our Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally.
I hope you enjoy reading this week’s reading plan. May we continue to show love to those around us just as God has loved us.
