When Paul wrote the church in Ephesus, he prayed that they would "know" the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge - filled with all the fullness of God. This isn't a new topic for this blog but I continue to be taken deeper in my understanding. The word translated as "know" is used as a Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. The word translated as "knowledge" refers to an acquired knowledge (like science). One comes through study while the other comes through experience. Don't you know that it's one thing to study about intimate love and quite another to experience it? What Paul is telling us is that we will never fully comprehend the love of God because it surpasses anything we could ever learn. However, we can fully experience it. And as we continue to come into these intimate encounters with the love of God then we are able to step into the fullness of God.
This whole idea captures my attention because Paul is trying to move the church toward an experience rather than simply being satisfied with a head knowledge. Our churches today are filled with people who have a head knowledge of the love of God but are lacking in the intimate experiences of His love. Depending on your church background you may have been told to go after the knowledge more than the experience. According to Paul - that would be backwards. Once you come into an experiential knowledge then you will be able to come into an understanding. It is my opinion that you cannot come into a full understanding until you experience something. For example: Before I had children I never fully understood the dynamics of being a parent. The same could be said of marriage. Before I was married, all I had were theories, head knowledge, and a limited understanding of what it meant to be a husband. Now...as a husband and a father...I am coming into a greater understanding. What makes the difference? EXPERIENCE!!!
God wants you to know His love in the most intimate way. This requires more than being able to memorize Scripture or teach a lesson. It requires that I experience for myself the absolute, incredible, and unconditional love of God. It means that I come into an encounter.
It is my prayer for you that you may know the intimate and experiential love of God so that you would be filled with all the fullness of God. Remember - His fullness is discovered in the experiential knowledge of His love. Don't sell yourself short. Keep pressing in. Keep going hard after God. It's my belief that He wants you to encounter His love more than you may want to encounter it. He wants your life to be completely wrecked for anything else. He wants you to be consumed with His love for you.
Enjoy the journey!!!
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