Ephesians 3:19. “…and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”
I love to read the prayers of Paul. Many times I find myself praying these same prayers for my family, my friends and myself. Though Paul, in his love for people, was concerned about their physical problems, most of his prayers had an inward focus. He knew that what his world needed more than anything was a relationship with the Almighty God of heaven and that this was possible through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today it is no different. God longs for a relationship with each of us and has made it possible through His Son’s death and resurrection. His Spirit works with power in our lives calling us to allow Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith. When we allow Him into our lives He helps us to comprehend the breadth, length, height and depth of God’s love for us. This is a love that surpasses knowledge.
Living in a university town there is a great emphasis on education and obtaining knowledge. Growing in our intellectual ability is so important. It stimulates our minds providing us with better thought patterns and the ability to obtain good jobs. But there are dangers, too. Often we can get caught in the trap of thinking that because we have all the information about something that we “know” what we are doing.
I know a lot about George Washington and can recite all sorts of facts about him but I have never met him and do not “know” him in a relationship. Paul prays that his friends will know the love of Christ in a way that surpasses knowledge. He wants their relationship to be built on one of trust and common experiences not just information that they gathered from listening to a teacher. This only happens as we live our daily lives listening to God speak through His Word and conversing back to Him through prayer. Go to Him with every question, every heartache, and every joy. Live life on a daily basis with Him by your side.When we love someone we go out of our way to spend time with them, gaining insight into their thought patterns for the purpose of learning about them, enjoying them, and blessing them back. If I can win the game of Bible Trivia but have no arms to run to when life hits me in the face, then what good is all my knowledge?
So, I pray that the God who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that I could ask or think will help you and me to be strengthened in our inner lives, to give Christ a place to dwell within our hearts, and to comprehend the love of God through a relationship with Him that goes beyond just information. This is the love of God that surpasses knowledge and fills us with the fullness of God. This is my prayer for you.
