DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (part-26)

LIVING A LIFE MOTIVATED AND GUIDED BY LOVE

BIBLE PASSAGE:
I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power
through His Spirit in your inner being, 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 3:16-19)

MEDITATION:
After Paul was converted from a persecutor of Christians, to a messenger
of the good news of Jesus Christ, he understood the importance of love in
believers, and the magnitude of God’s love. In his letter to the Christians
in Ephesus, he wanted them to experience the love of Christ too.

We know from scriptures that God is love and if we follow Him, then 
we need to know about His love, and how others can see His love in us.
    Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
    (1 John 4:8)
Paul gives the Ephesian Christians (and us) some advice to help us 
understand what God’s love is all about.

First of all he prayed that they (and we) would be strengthened through
the power of the Holy Spirit. How can we experience the Holy Spirit, if
He is not an active part of our lives? We need to pray and ask God to fill
us with His Holy Spirit, but it doesn’t stop there – we need to also pray
that other believers will be filled with God’s Spirit of love too.

Next, Paul tells us that through the strength and power of the Holy Spirit,
our faith will increase, and Christ will dwell in our hearts. What does it
mean to have Christ dwelling in our hearts? It means that we will look at
things more from His perspective. The worldly influence on us is lessened,
and His impact on our lives is increased.

Also, when Christ dwells in our hearts, Paul says that we will be
    ‘rooted and established in love’.
Being rooted in love means that we will be motivated by love in all we do
and say; our actions and attitudes will be different than they were in the
past; and, our thoughts will be influenced by a heart of love. In essence,
we will become new people who are driven by love instead of selfishness.

Paul tells us that these changes in us will give us an identity with the
Lord’s holy people. When we belong to the family of the Lord, we will
have a new capacity for understanding the magnitude of Christ’s love.
Love will become much more important to us than knowledge.

Lastly, Paul tells us that we will be filled with the
    ‘full measure of the fullness of God’
What does that mean? It means we will be able to view things
more from a spiritual perspective. Why? Because God’s Spirit
is living in us!

It also means that we will understand the importance of prayer.
    And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds
    of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert
    and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
    (Ephesians 6:18)

Our prayers will be constant (‘pray on all occasions’).
Our prayers will be intense (‘always keep on praying’).
Our prayers will be broad in their scope of concern
(‘for all the Lord’s people’; ‘all kinds of prayers and requests’).

Aren’t you glad that we, as a group, have assigned people to
pray for each week? If anyone ever wonders about how to
pray for others, this lesson/devotional from the Lord should
give us the guidelines we need.

ACTION:
To really know love, is to live a life of love. Have you followed Paul’s
advice for experiencing God’s love in your own life? Has it affected
you and caused significant changes in your thoughts, actions, words
and attitude? Have you become a new person, with a new spiritual
perspective that is driven by love?
    May the Lord make your love increase and
    overflow for each other and for everyone else,
    just as ours does for you.
    (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

Be honest with yourself and answer these questions:
    “How have I been changed by God after salvation?”
    “Can others see a difference in me and my attitudes?”
    “Is my love for others continuing to increase,
      or have I become stagnant, or even drifted backward?”

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your undeniable love
for me. Help me to develop a greater understanding of
Your love, and how I can live a life guided by Your love.
Fill me with Your Spirit so I will learn to love others and
will pray for them to know You, and Your love for mankind.
Teach me how to become more loving in all I do and say,
so I will be a witness to others that I am part of Your family.”

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