God’s Endless Love

God’s Endless LoveEphesians 3:18-19 “Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences – the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding – this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”Man, I am truly in love with the passion translation right now. It helps me understand the Word of God in a deeper way. Last night, I was talking to Deacon Joe, the director of the Boston campus of Encounter’s School of Ministry, and I told him that I feel like my mission is to bring God’s love to others. I want every person in the entire world to know and understand how incredibly loved they are by their heavenly Father.Love is lacking in this world. It is absent in so many areas. The love that we do have is nothing like the love of our Heavenly Father. People are desperate for love these days. Maybe we always were; I’m not sure. I do know that people feel unloved and unwelcome right now. Most people don’t feel comfortable in their own skin. They wish they were different in many ways.With social media and how easy it is to see what everyone else is doing, it is easy to compare yourself to what they look like, what material possessions they have, what vacations they take, and how many friends they have. When we start to compare ourselves to others then we start to be unhappy with who we are and what we have. Yet, who we are is who God created us to be. He gave each one of us unique strengths and weaknesses. How many of us can only see our weaknesses?Matthew 22:36-40 says, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” I think we all know this first one and find the first one of these two commandments the easiest. It is easier to love God than it is to love others, at least most of the time. If you are going through a really hard season then you might be angry at God, but for the most part, we can get on board with loving God the Father with all that we have.However, the second commandment listed here is one that many people struggle with. First, loving our neighbor doesn’t just mean loving the person next door. It means loving everyone we meet. It means loving our enemies or those who have wronged us. There seem to be a lot of unlovable people in the world—people who are angry or unkind. How are we supposed to love people who treat us badly? How are we supposed to love people that we don’t even really know? How are we supposed to love people who know exactly what to say to get under our skin?In order to understand how to love others, let’s take a closer look at how the Lord loves us. The verse above starts with, “Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences- the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions.” When I looked up the word astonishing, it said, “causing a feeling of great surprise or wonder.” That is the Lord’s love for us. It is full of surprises and wonder. Have you ever been surprised by God’s love?I spoke with a young woman last night at an Encounter event who was blown away by God’s love. She had been suffering from concussions and a condition where her feet couldn’t sweat. She had gone to a healing service a while back and did not see a lot of relief from her symptoms. Then, after a day and a half or so later, she was completely healed of both conditions. She just couldn’t believe the love of her Heavenly Father. She couldn’t believe that He healed her of not just one condition but of both of them at the same time. She definitely felt the astonishing love of God that evening.Next, the verse says, “How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! Wow, this is incredible, too. God’s love is far-reaching. I have seen this far-reaching love in my life. My husband and I had been struggling for a long time in our marriage. It got to the point where I felt like we needed to get a divorce. I do not believe in divorce but us living in the same house just wasn’t working. We have three boys, and the constant fighting was not good for anyone. Although there was no doubt in my mind that we needed a divorce or at least a separation, I still didn’t want it. I went to God often, and I asked Him to fix our marriage. I asked Him to change our hearts. I asked Him to keep our family together. This was for sure a far reach as we were pretty broken. Yet, God fixed us. He changed our hearts and helped fix not just our marriage but our family, too. There is no questioning God’s love for you when you can see Him work so powerfully in your life.Next, it says, “How enduring and inclusive it is!” This is something I think we often forget. God’s love is inclusive. Jesus did not come to save the righteous. He came to save the sinners. Jesus ate with the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and the sinners. Jesus met everyone right where they were, and He showered them with love and respect, and then He told them to sin no more. He didn’t meet people with condemnation and judgment. His love was and is inclusive. His love is also enduring, which means long-lasting, which seems like an understatement as His love is forever; it never goes away. You could live to be 500 years old, and He would still love you.Next, it says, “Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding.” Do you ever wonder why God loves you? I mean, none of us are perfect. We all mess up, we all make mistakes, and we all hurt God in a variety of ways. So, why does He love us? The answer is that His love transcends our understanding. His love is not dependent on us understanding it. Also, as I mentioned earlier, his love is endless. It is like a circle. There is no beginning or end to God’s love. He has always loved us, and He always will. Isn’t that incredible?Do you see now why I love this translation of the Bible? It has this amazing way of describing things. I love how it describes God’s love. It puts into words what really can’t be put into words. It helps me understand God’s love at a whole new level. I mentioned above how we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. It is easier to love ourselves if we understand how loved we are by our heavenly Father. If we love ourselves then it is easier to love others. I invite you to take some time today and reread this translation of the verse above. You can look it up online or go to the Bible app on your smartphone. This is the passion translation. I invite you to sit with the Lord and thank Him for loving you so well. If you struggle to feel the Lord’s love, then I invite you to sit with Him and ask Him what is getting in the way of you feeling His love because I assure you His love is there.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, help us understand how much you love us. Help us learn to love ourselves and our neighbors. Thank you, Lord, for being such an amazing example of love. Thank you for the way you love us so unconditionally. Help us do the same with all those we meet. We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I will be opening registration to my October retreat soon, so be on the lookout for an email in your inbox. If you are not on my email list you can click on the link below to sign up and I will send you an audio training on how to invite God into your everyday life. I know we are all busy and feel like we can’t add one more thing into our schedule. In this audio training I teach you how to add prayer into the things you are already doing so it is not adding anymore time to do you day but adding a lot of value. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I. May the favor and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be upon you! Have a Blessed day!Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Nothing will ever separate us. Nothing—no suffering, no sin, no pride, no willfulness—can undo the bond of our love except unbelief. Believe in my words to you this day. Remember my love and mercy for all. For this is the day that I have made. Be glad and rejoice in it.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace