One of the most important lines ever prayed for people, especially when we face pain and unprecedented times–like right now–is found in these words:
“… that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” (Eph. 3:17-19 ESV)
When life is rocky, there is something that roots us. When times are grave, there is something that grounds us. When all else feels fluid, one thing remains fixed: the love of Christ.
Christ does not simply save us.
Christ does not only forgive us.
Christ loves us.
Christ’s adoration of you is the ultimate anchor for you.
Look in the mirror. Speak to yourself the messages which religion often urges you to say:
“I am redeemed.”
“I am rescued.”
“I am pardoned.”
“I am purified.”
All of these messages and identities are true. But one, alone, roots you and grounds you. One, alone, is often the least stressed by churches but is the most stressed by Christ. Look in the mirror. Speak to yourself the message which Jesus urges you to say:
“I am beloved.”
The single and simple truth that you are beloved, that you matter, that you are cherished is the truth most vital to human health and most endangered by human hate. It’s a truth often held hostage by churches and institutions in the name of God. It’s a truth powerfully declared in protests in the streets. It’s a truth shockingly denied by politicians in their seats. According to Paul, one who probably knew something of the disdain of others and the doubts nurtured by self-hatred, this is the truth that stabilizes and supports us: Christ loves us.
To help us visualize this love Paul points to its “breadth and length and height and depth.” Some of the earliest Christians believed Paul was characterizing the cross through this language. The two posts of the cross point in the four directions of Paul’s prayer:
- The top of the cross has height.
- The bottom of the cross has depth.
- And the crossbeam has breadth and length.
The earliest Christians believed Paul was portraying the cross as the supreme expression of the stabilizing force of Christ’s love.
Other Christian writers in the ancient world took this a step further. They believed that each word in Paul’s prayer stood for a characteristic of the love in which we are to be rooted and grounded:
- The word “length” stands for the duration of Jesus’ love. How long can we count on his love, especially when so many other expressions of care today feel so fickle? The length of Jesus’ love is eternal. It lingers as far as forever. There will never ever be a time when Jesus does not treasure you.
- The word “depth” refers to the reach of Jesus’ love. When we discover ourselves in despair and darkness, caught in a cave of concern, buried beyond all hope, even there Jesus’ love reaches. No matter how low we go, his devotion drills down to deliver us.
- The word “breadth” symbolizes the inclusion of Jesus’ love. Earlier in his letter, Paul portrays how Jesus’ passion enveloped both Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:11-12). No ethnic group escaped the scope of his love. There is no race, no nationality, no ethnicity that makes you somehow second to others or superior to others. Jesus has a love with such breadth that it can encompass every race and every ethnicity. Jesus’ love includes those whose race or ethnicity often leaves them excluded by others.
- The word “height” stands for the result of Jesus’ love. His love is so great that it can lead you to the highest heavens, to the place of Jesus himself. His love is so great, it lifts you so high, that there is no longer any gap at all between you and Jesus. It transports you, and all others, to what the early Christians called “union.”
There is something unfathomable about this love, according to Paul. Just when you feel like you’ve got a handle on how long that love is going to last or how deep down that love is going to go or how many different racial or ethnic groups it is going to extend itself to, or just how high it’s going to lift you, think again. It is longer and deeper and wider and higher than anything you can know. It’ll always last longer, always reach deeper, always be more inclusive, always result in greater union than we can ever fathom. It’s the kind of compassion that, when seen incarnated in the lives of people and places, likely leads at least some to worry, “That’s too much!” “That’s going overboard!” “We should be a little more reasonable!” “But, where is all this going to lead?!” People and communities of faith who are grounded and growing in this love will probably make some uncomfortable. But for the rest of us, for the rest of the world, so long denied this basic divine gift, we will finally and fully celebrate. Because what others have told us and what we’ve told ourselves now no longer turns out to be true. We are, in fact, now and forever, beloved.
