Growth Weekly
Paul believed we can come to know just how "wide, long, high, and deep the love of Christ" is for us (Eph 3:18). So, how wide is it?
Romans 3:21-24 - "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
I had a baseball coach one year pull a fast one on me. We had gone through our warm-ups and were just about to start the game. As the home side, my team took the field first; and so, my coach went around the circle of players, calling out names and positions. After he had finished, I couldn't remember hearing my name and asked the coach where I was playing. His response: "Left out." Only being a 5th grader, the joke was lost on me until he explained it 5 times where "left out" was in the field (Hint: it's in right bench). Luckily for those of us with faith in Christ, we don't have a God with the same sense of humor as my baseball coach. When it comes to the love of God, no one is left out. Paul reminds us of this when he writes: "all sin," "all fall short," "all are justified," and "all who believe." When we talk about the width of God's love, we talk of how God's love is universal. There is not a person born who has not sinned and fallen short. There is not a person born who deserves God's love. And yet, there is not a person born whom God does not love. He loves everyone and wishes that all might come to experience his love. However, not all people will be saved, but all people have available the gift of salvation if they believe because God's love is wide. He loves us all.
How have you experienced the width of God's love? How might you share and show the width of his love for others? Don't limit God's love by withholding it but show and share it with all!