Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the sky 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
“Windows” by Of The Land
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 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, 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
Imagine lying on a hill in the cool and soft summer grass. Imagine the sky is bright and blue and you are looking upwards. You are gazing as the clouds pass by you overhead. Immense, soft clouds dwarf the trees and the hill where you are, floating by, coming from somewhere miles away and drifting in the wind, changing size and shape as they come and go. You are staring up at the endless vault of sky, blissfully bright and radiantly blue. Yet the love of God is bigger.
Try to compare the sky to the love of God. Imagine it. Think of how the sky surrounds the earth, protects it, makes the earth habitable. It is a shield, keeping breathable air inside its dome. It keeps the harshest of the sun’s rays out. The sky bears rain clouds that water entire ecosystems. They bring water to this very earth. Yet the love of God is bigger.
As we love Him, He has loved us more. We give Him our tribute. He provides (Gen 22:14). We honor Him. He makes us holy (Exod 31:13). We give Him praise. He is our banner (Exod 17:15). We love Him. But He has loved us all enough to die for us (John 3:16).
He is our deliverer and our fortress, Our healer and our strength. He is our rock and He is our light. He is Savior and He is King. He is Alpha and Omega, self existent and God Most High. He is a refuge and Lord of all the Earth. He is the Eternal God. And He is love.
And He loves you. He loves each of you. Creator God created you to be you, not to be someone you aren’t. Not to wish you were better. Not to think about your shortcomings. To be lovely just as you are. To be beloved by Him. You are His idea. Another one of His lavish gifts. So is the person next to you. The one walking in front of you. All created by God. All His children, all His love.
He created each one of us. He loves each one of us. He longs for a relationship with us. He is jealous for your affections. Think of that on a day when you hate your actions. When you call yourself a knucklehead or a jerk. You are not that. You are the missing sentence in someone else’s story. You matter. You are seen. You are beloved. By God.
Remember the vast sky. Think of the clouds. You cannot see far enough to have seen them float towards you. You cannot see them drift out of view. His love is larger than that. Larger than the vault of sky. Larger than the hill you are lying on. Higher than the tallest tree you can see as you are looking upwards. brighter than the sun. His glory is more radiant than the sun. His love is an unquenchable fire. Think of these things. Think of God and meditate on Him. Compare this small patch of visible world with the greatness of God. For He is so much greater and His love is even greater than this.
Written by Janet Keefe
