Some Things Can’t Be Measured

Some Things Can’t Be Measured

Paul’s Letter

Read: Ephesians 3:14-19

“After I get off the interstate, how many miles do I go before turning onto county road 1900N?” It was the type of question I dread. It’s hard for me to give directions because I have no sense of distance, unlike my husband, who has an innate ability to estimate measurements in his mind. Richard doesn’t understand why I can’t immediately answer questions such as, “How high do you want this curtain rod?” “How long is their driveway?” “How wide is your entertainment center?” (Sigh.) It’s not easy being measurement-challenged.

Maybe some of the women who lived in New Testament times also had this problem. Could they have told a traveler how many leagues to go down the road before reaching a certain village? One measurement they all struggled with was expressed in Paul’s letter to the believers at Ephesus. I imagine that those women’s hearts warmed as they heard Paul’s prayer that they would be able to grasp the immensity of God’s love for them.

However analytical our minds are, none of us is able to fully understand God’s infinite love. We can count the blessings God has given us and recite verses such as “God is love” (1 John 4:8), but we’ve only scratched the surface. God gave us an idea of his love when he became human to suffer and die in our place so that we could be set free from the penalty for sin. We more easily comprehend God’s love when we look at Jesus Christ: how high the Cross stood, how wide he stretched out his arms, how deep the sword pierced his side, how long his body lay in the tomb before his resurrection. Still, some things just can’t be measured.

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

Ephesians 3:18