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REFLECTION
The theme for our reflection is “understanding the depth of the love of God.” Depth in the context of our theme means the quality of being intense or extreme. Understanding the depth of the love of God means having an appreciation of how intense and extreme God’s love is for humanity. Beloved in the Lord, we shall reflect on the fact that to understand the depth of the love of God we must know Jesus Christ.

Beloved in the Lord, to know Christ means developing a personal relationship with Him. After explaining his calling to witness to the Gentile world and the nature of his suffering, Paul prayed for spiritual strength for the church of Ephesus, “I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:16-17). Again, he prayed the the believers in Ephesus to understand the love of God through Jesus Christ, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and 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.” (Ephesians 3:17-19). It is important to reemphasize the point that before we can experience the glory of God in our lives and also understand the depth of His love, we must first have personal and saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing Christ means that He dwells in our hearts through faith. In other words, without faith, it is impossible to know Christ and fully be strengthened spiritually to understand God’s love, will and purpose for our lives. It is for this reason Paul prayed “…that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:16-17). We experience the love of God and receive His immeasurable blessings when we know Christ and He dwells in our hearts through faith. By knowing Christ, we come to understand His love which is more valuable than the knowledge of this world and we are filled with the fullness of God. God’s fullness is God’s glory or presence in our lives. How can a believer live in this evil and broken world without experiencing the love and fullness of God through Christ Jesus? This is why Paul wrote to strengthen the Ephesians, “to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19). Like Paul, It must be our deepest prayer and desire that “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11). In other words, we must desire to experience and fully understand the love of God through Christ by dying and resurrecting with Jesus Christ into a new life of repentance and regeneration. Beloved in the Lord, do you know Christ or have a personal relationship with Him? Jesus assures us that “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7). If we truly know Christ and have faith in Him, then we must do God’s will by following the example and teachings of Jesus Christ to fully understand and experience the depth of God’s love for us. Jesus reminds us that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. “(Matthew 7:21). In other words, It only through Jesus, we can please God, do His will and continue to experience His love and gift of eternal life.

Advent season offers us an opportunity to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and have a personal relationship with Him. The commemoration of the first advent which is Chrismas, reveals to us the depth of God’s love, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16). This love is still available to us only if we shall turn to Him in repentance like the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Let us repent this Advent season and experience regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit and also continue to experience the glory of God and the depth of His love through our Lord Jesus Christ.



In summary, we have reflected on the theme, “Understanding the depth of the love of God” We have learnt that to understand the depth of the love of God we must know Jesus Christ and to know Christ means developing a personal relationship with Him. Shalom.

PRAYER

Almighty God, strengthen our faith to continually be in relationship with Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, so that we may continue to experience Your glory and the depth of Your Love through Him. Our greatest desire is to ever remain in Jesus who is the hope of our glory. Amen