In Ephesians 3, Paul uses a phrase worth thinking about throughout the day: “you, being rooted and grounded in love” (3:17).
To be “grounded in” is to have a firm foundation. The solid foundation of the Christian’s love is the love of Christ “that surpasses knowledge” (3:19). Jesus is not asking us to love in ways that he himself did not love. We love because he first loved us–the weak, the ungodly, the sinners. God shows his love for us in that while we were still enemies, Christ died for us. His love is our firm foundation.
But we are also to be “rooted” in love. Roots provide stability and nourishment. Roots are the source of life. Think about that. As disciples of Jesus, we’re not only learning about what he did, we’re drawing the courage, determination, and will to love from him, as a branch draws life from a vine.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—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, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:14-19)
May we be rooted and grounded in love today. May all that we do (and don’t do) have the love of Jesus as a foundation. May the love of Christ, that surpasses knowledge, be life-giving fuel to love our neighbors as ourselves today. May our actions and reactions today give someone else a glimpse of the breadth, length, height, and depth of the Creator’s love today. May the fullness of God fill us to the brim and pour out of us into a world that is hope-starved and love-deprived.
That’s a prayer worth praying today.