WEEK FOUR INTRODUCTION 
TITLE: THEY’LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE                                     
March 03 - March 09
Jesus emphatically stated, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35, NKJV). The way we love one another demonstrates the depth of our faith. In Ephesians, Paul prays for fellow believers that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17–19). With each passing day, God’s people are to become more and more Christlike, and Paul prays for this in the above passage. Jesus’ call to “...love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44, NKJV) is a challenging request we must take seriously. Indeed, it is only through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to turn the other cheek when we are wronged, and to learn to forgive “seventy times seven.”

In his book The Triumph of Christianity, historian Rodney Stark reports on two devastating Greco-Roman plagues (probably smallpox) that left many of their victims dead. Pagans were “throwing infected members of their own families into the streets even before they died, in order to protect themselves from the disease.” Many fled for their lives. Yet Christians fearlessly remained in place to nurse the suffering, bury the dead, and lovingly minister to those in need, even at the expense of their own lives. Christ’s love in us is a way of being, a way of thinking, acting, and living that is counterintuitive to those who have not experienced his grace. 

Tertullian, a second-century scholar, reported that citizens of Rome, with amazement, would proclaim of the first Christians, “See how they love one another!” Justin Martyr, another early Christian philosopher, wrote, “We who used to value the acquisition of wealth and possessions more than anything else now bring what we have into a common fund and share it with anyone who needs it. We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.” In Christ, the sins of selfishness and pride are replaced with patience, humility, and a deep rejoicing—for Christ has shown us, through love, the way to obtain true freedom. “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:1–2). Lord, teach us more and more to love!

Day 19 - Sunday, March 03
Title: COMPREHENDING THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST
Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21 (NKJV)
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Poetry & Poet: 
“The Want of Peace”
by Wendell Berry

All goes back to the earth,
and so I do not desire
pride of excess or power,
but the contentments made
by men who have had little:
the fisherman's silence
receiving the river's grace,
the gardener's musing on rows.

I lack the peace of simple things.
I am never wholly in place.
I find no peace or grace.
We sell the world to buy fire,
our way lighted by burning men,
and that has bent my mind
and made me think of darkness
and wish for the dumb life of roots. 

COMPREHENDING THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST

If there is one thing I miss about living in Wales, one thing that I long for, it’s the hymn singing. It seeps into all communal activities, from rugby games to the National Eisteddfod (arts festival). Whether you are a Christian or not, you will have the lyrics and melodies to many hymns in your long-term memory. The Welsh have a word for this kind of “longing” - Hiraeth. This word is difficult to translate accurately into English but reflects both the freeing of emotion in expressing longing and the concrete certainty in the thing you long for. So too hymn singing for the Welsh is both emotional and grounding. Emotional in that the words and music tug on heart; grounded in that the words and music fix you in a particular location and time.

Today’s music is one of those hymns. It was the hymn I chose for my baptism and it was the hymn that we sang at our church the Sunday after a dear friend passed away last semester. The truth that the hymn “O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus” conveys is apparent in the melody - “vast, unmeasured, boundless, free.” To sing this hymn with fellow believers is to swim in that mighty ocean surrounded on all sides by the love of Jesus. Now, this may sound vague and a little ‘wishy-washy’ (pun intended!), and yet our passage today begs to differ.

Paul kneels as he prays for the Ephesian Church, grounding his request for them to be “strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” by focusing on Christ as the expression and definition of the love of God. Being “rooted and grounded” in this love––in Christ himself, is what steadies the Christian in contemplating the utter vastness of God.

Today’s painting, Rose VI, shows us that even the small things of the created world confess to the enormity of God’s love in Christ Jesus. Look at the almost flesh-like texture of the rose petals, the drop of moisture (or is it blood!?) that nestles in the canvas. Through each layer of paint, Morphesis grounds creation in the person of Christ.

If hiraeth were a theological term it would convey the emotion and reality of living in the already and not yet of our earthly pilgrimage. In poet Wendell Berry’s words:

‘I lack the peace of simple things.
I am never wholly in place.
I find no peace or grace.’

Such longing, such hiraeth, grounds Berry in his earthly existence and sets his soul free to yearn for a coming reality that is a transformation of the “dumb life of roots” ––a reality found in Christ alone.

May we be a hiraeth people––those who are grounded in our recognition of Christ’s love for us, growing in our understanding of that love, and longing for the time when we shall be united with our Lord and Savior for all eternity.

Oh-oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
'Tis a heav'n of heav'ns to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to Thee.

Prayer
O heavenly Father, who has filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Sian Draycott
Instructor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.