…and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…

                                                                                                     Ephesians 3:19a

Have you noticed that God’s Word makes statements that defy human logic and reason? Statements such as, “The last will be first and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16), “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will find it” (Luke 9:24), and “God has chosen foolish things to shame the wise and the weak things to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). God’s ways really are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). Today’s passage is another one of those statements. We are praying to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge. I believe the key to understanding this statement is simply that God wants you to know His love experientially in your life, meaning to know Him through experience. And this love surpasses knowledge because it cannot be arrived at through human, intellectual pursuit alone. The love of Christ is to be enjoyed, not just studied. God has chosen, through the gospel, to reveal Himself to those who believe, not being obtained through intellectual wisdom rather through faith (1 Corinthians 1:21). He has chosen to reveal Himself to those who will simply trust Him with a child-like faith (Matthew 11:25). So it is possible to know the love of Jesus and this love is to be experienced and enjoyed. You can study manuals on how to drive or you can get in a car and actually drive. You can read reviews of the latest movie or you can go to the theater and see the movie for yourself. Likewise, you can study about God’s love or you can experience it for yourself. The latter is far more rewarding than the former. This week, we will be praying for God to reveal His love to us while also taking a look at what scripture says about this kind of knowledge. Perhaps you have never really experienced the love of God in your life. Maybe you just need a fresh filling of God’s love. Whichever the case, be open to what God has to say to you as we look at a love which surpasses human, intellectual knowledge.

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin.

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.

Frederick M. Lehman, 1917