"O love, how deep, how broad, how high, Beyond all thought and fantasy, That God, the Son of God, should take Our mortal form for mortals' sake!
"For us He rose from death again; For us He went on high to reign; For us He sent His Spirit here To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer."
We live within the limits of time and space, measuring our lives in minutes and hours, miles and millimeters. God cannot be measured. He is all-knowing, present everywhere, infinite and eternal, the Creator who is not bound by created things. His ways and thoughts are immeasurable: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). At the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon asked in prayer, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You" (1 Kings 8:27a). Although heaven cannot contain Him, God chose to dwell on earth. Acting with love beyond our comprehension, God sent His Son into the world so that we would know "the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7b).
God the Son lived within the limits of our time and space, in buildings constructed according to cubits and spans. The Savior walked on roads measured in Roman stadia and Sabbath day's journeys. He told parables about carefully counted sheep and wealth weighed in minas and talents. According to God's timing, Jesus was crucified at the third hour of the day and hung on the cross in darkness that covered the land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour. At just the right time, He yielded up His spirit. His redeeming work was finished, His sacrifice complete. Then, in God's measured time, on the third day after His death Jesus rose in triumph from the grave, a victory that is ours by faith.
How can we grasp this love that is so deep, so broad, so high, love that is, as our hymn declares, "beyond all thought and fantasy"? Jesus' love for us is so deep that He died and was buried in the deep darkness of a tomb. His love for us is so high that He rose from death and was exalted to reign at the right hand of God the Father. The love of God for us is so broad that He sent His Spirit "to guide, to strengthen, and to cheer" us, as we proclaim to all nations the message of salvation. It is the good news of the immeasurable love of God that was measured by the width of a cross and the depth of an empty tomb.
WE PRAY: Lord, lead me to share with others the wonders of Your great love. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, "O Love, How Deep," which is number 544 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
1. How can you be more productive in your free time?
2. What does it say about God that He would take on our humanity to save us?
3. Who can you pray for today that needs to hear about God's love for them? How else can you express God's love to them?
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 1-3 1 Corinthians 6
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