Rooted and Filled

In Ephesians chapter three, Paul writes, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together will all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” 

That is quite a prayer of encouragement and hope. So much power and depth in these words. When I think about the image of being rooted and established in love, I think of a giant oak tree. It is not easily moved. It is rooted deeply into the earth’s soil. It has lived there for decades and is well established, able to withstand the winds and storms of life.  

Then, there is the power, together with all the Lord’s holy people. The trees within the forest. Living life, together. Strengthening one another, with roots intertwined. Holding on to one another. Grasping the love of Christ. The life-sustaining earth in which we all stand. The connection, unity, and love available to us. Filling us with the fullness of God. 

Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Since it is possible that thou mayest depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly.” This is another powerful statement. I take this to mean that every moment matters. We may have days left to live or we may have decades. But the length of time we have does not matter. What does is that we recognize the value of each day. That our actions and thoughts be regulated. We cannot control how many days we have, but we can control how we live those days we’ve been given. 

Today, I began my journal by writing about encouragement and hope. Our job is to receive it and to share it. Like love, encouragement is more of a verb than a noun. It is living and breathing. We have been given love, encouragement, and hope. Now, ours is to give it back to those around us. I don’t know that we can truly grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. I don’t know that we can truly know this love that surpasses knowledge. But I do know we can be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Today, may we grasp, regulate, encourage, and offer hope. May we be filled, and may we love deeply. 

Photo by Sabin Zablau on Unsplash