WHEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH KATHY
Have you ever been in love? You know, the can’t sleep, can’t think, not hungry kind of love? I’ll never forget the day I met Kathy lying on a raft in the middle of a lake in Nice, California. That girl took my breath away! I was in love, and passion was awakened in me! There was no way I could explain what I was experiencing, but I certainly tried. I would spend hours talking to anybody who would listen to me as I tried desperately to explain the love I felt for Kathy. As you can imagine, the only people who understood me were those who themselves had the same experience. I’m sure some of you have found yourself in the same position, head over hills and wanting to scream your love from a mountaintop! And for some strange reason, other people just don’t seem to get as excited as you are about it. If romantic, human love has to be experienced to be understood, then how can the love of God be explained before it’s experienced?
EXPERIENCING THE LOVE OF GOD
Just what are we missing when we limit our experience of God’s love to the definition we think we understand? God’s love is so much bigger than being able to quote John 3:16. The apostle Paul prayed for the church that “[the Father] would grant you . . . to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16–19).
Oh man, that’s a mouthful! Did you feel it? Did you see it? Did you get it? Wow! We are supposed to be rooted and grounded in love. The core foundation of everything we believe, do, say, live, and experience must flow from love, be motivated by love, and be grounded in love. Beyond that, we are not to be rooted and grounded in just any love, but in the agape love of God that must be experienced to be comprehended (agape is the Greek word for God’s love).
But wait, it gets better! You are also invited to comprehend the love of God that’s beyond comprehension. Check it out one more time: “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.” This is the place where the infinite transcends the finite, the supernatural infuses the biological, and the heart is enlightened to the secret dimensions of His passion for you! You heard me right; He is wild about you! He didn’t just die for you; He lives for you. In fact, He lives in you, around you, and through you. God is all about you! I don’t mean you are all He has; I just mean you are His favorite. Here are a few of my favorite truths about God’s love:
1. He tells you secrets the angels wish they knew (1 Peter 1:12).
2. You are God’s inheritance (Ephesians 1:18).
3. You are His son or daughter—His child—and part of His cosmic family (Romans 8:12–25).
4. You are the only creature ever made in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), to be redeemed by the death of God Himself (John 3:16), and allowed to carry His glory (John 17:22).
5. You are the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8), the hope of His glory (Colossians 1:27), and the bride of the Bridegroom (Revelation 21:2).
6. God rejoices over you with shouts of joy (Zephaniah 3:17).
7. No one and nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:38–39), and anyone who messes with you must answer to Him (Romans 8:31).
THE POWER OF EXPERIENCING GOD’S LOVE
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched people crumble under the revelation of God’s love for them. Often, in the midst of counseling people, I have told them that they need to experience the love of the Father. This must be some sort of unwritten signal for them to unleash a torrent of Bible verses because, almost without fail, believers feel compelled to quote every verse they have ever memorized from the Bible on the subject of love. When their surge subsides, I usually quietly lay my hand on their shoulders and ask the Father to show them His love. The responses are often dramatic and shocking. I’ve observed several of them falling out of their chairs onto the floor as waves of the Father’s love encompassed them. Others laughed uncontrollably for hours as God revealed layers and layers of His love for them. I have witnessed thousands of people touched by the extravagant love of God, freed from the bondage of sin, released from the prison of addictions, and healed in the depths of their souls. This is what happens when the revelation of Jesus’ love makes the eighteen-inch journey from the head to the heart. This is love experienced and yet not explained. This is it!
LET LOVE IN
I have a dream that each of us would create a culture that cultivates world-changers by loving unconditionally. Our love would be so incredibly deep that people would feel enveloped with a deep sense of belonging, and they would lose the fear of failure. For those of you who are reading today who have only heard of, but not fully experienced the love of God, I want to encourage you to open your heart proactively right now. I pray that the unconditional love of our Father would wash over you in wave after wave, taking you deeper and deeper into His embrace. I pray that you would feel lavished upon, known, seen and accepted in a way that you didn’t even know was possible. I bless you today with a knowing in your heart, not just in your mind, of how favored and chosen you are!
