We can all agree that love for God and our neighbor appears to be dwindling in the world today. My goal with this blog series is to help strengthen your ability to love both God and others as well as come to know more deeply the love of Christ. Why? Love must reign in our hearts above all else if we are to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. If we come to understand His love for us, then our faith will grow, our understanding and tolerance for others increase, and a more peaceful life achieved amidst trials and strife.
Our focus scripture for this series is Ephesians 3:17-19:
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Let’s start by an in-depth exploration of these verses. Very few individuals in history had the privilege of personally knowing Christ during His mortal ministry. We rely on their testimonies and eye witness accounts of Christ as we develop our own relationship with Christ by FAITH. Our knowledge of Christ and His Atonement grows as we experience His healing and the associated changes in our hearts. But it all starts with faith. We come to know that Christ loves us unconditionally, hence the reason for His coming down to earth and dying for us. Little by little our understanding of His love for us grounds us more deeply in Christ.
But the breadth, length, depth, and height of His love is learned with each personal experience we have with Christ and His Atonement. Each time we pray for forgiveness, each time we repent, each time we cry out for help and are partakers of His mercy. There is nothing more faith building and strengthening than feeling that God is listening, that He understands what you are going through, that a solution is available, and that His love is unconditional.
The feelings can be so strong that at times it is difficult for us to wrap our understanding around the why and how of His love. We will never fully comprehend the answers in our lifetimes, but we will be forever grateful for the knowledge that he DOES love us fully.
Because of our limited understanding of the why and how of His love, I decided that music will be important to help us gain a glimpse into what others have come to know for themselves in the hopes that their words will open your heart, mind, and eyes to a new level. The first song of the series is “The God I Know” by Love & The Outcome. You can listen to it here.
The first part of the song talks about appearances and perfectionism. Keeping up with what others think or say about you is tiring—even at church. We make mistakes. Not knowing about repentance or who to turn to for true help can leave us with feelings of guilt and shame.
The second part details that our Savior is more than just a Savior, and that He is real, not just someone you read about. The ending and the chorus are powerful because when you realize that you must turn over everything to the Savior and let Him mend your broken heart, you are being set free from all of your guilt as you come closer to Him through His Atonement. I also love this song because it talks about praising God, which is exactly what we want and need to do as individuals to show our gratitude for what He has done for us.
I am excited to delve into this topic with you! Please leave a comment or share the post with those that need to know that God loves them.