Are You Yearning for Love?

Ephesians 3:17b-18  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

I read a passage out of a book called Overtraining Athletes: Personal Journeys in Sport (Richardson, Andersen, Morris).  It recalled the life of an Australian athlete named Jane.  She was a sports phenom, first in gymnastics and then, after a broken arm, in cycling.  She quickly became junior cycling champ and won an international event at the age of 17.  Jane was then invited to train at the national institute.

Jane’s story sounds incredibly exciting but as you follow it you see that the theme is unfulfilled promise.  She, and everyone else around her had high expectations of her because of her junior success, and she was unable to continue to fulfill those expectations.  Ultimately, as you read about Jane’s journey, all she was looking for was love and affirmation.  She did not receive it from her parents, who seemed more interested in performance, so she tried to receive it from her coaches, who once again let her down when she did not perform.  She moved from coach to coach, each time yearning for that love and affirmation.

“Her first two coaches disappointed her, left her feeling miserable and abandoned, and now she moved to a new environment, with hope to win the love and affection of her new coaches, the next targets of Jane’s needs and desires.  When the need for love and attention is not met by disappointing parental figures, sometimes those desires get projected on to a larger and more global stage (Australia will love her; the world will love her).” (Overtraining Athletes: p.145)

For an elite athlete, love is not in short supply (at least what appears to be love on the surface) when you are performing.  Everyone is happy – parents, coaches, friends, even complete strangers.  You’re “feeling the love”.  But what happens when the performance is no longer there – where is the love now?

Today’s scripture is a beautiful reflection of who God is, and the type of love he lavishes on us.  In this portion of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 3:14-21), he describes his prayer for them.  Meditate on this passage.  In it you will find a God with 4-dimensional love (i.e. “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” vs. 18).  Paul’s exaggeration of the dimensions is likely intentional because God’s love for us is so radical.  It is tough to fathom – we are told that it “surpasses knowledge” (vs. 19a), it surpasses our understanding.  We read that it is God’s intention that we “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (19b). The Amplified Bible describes it as becoming “a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself”.  That is a concept that is difficult to fathom but considering that God is the architect of love and he is love personified, I accept the promise that I can be filled with that supernatural love.

If you find yourself searching for love, yearning for endearment and affirmation from the world, you will be sorely disappointed, because the world is fickle.  Screams of “we love you” today, can easily become chants of “we hate you” tomorrow.  Jesus Christ, however, is not fickle.  His love is not dependent on your performance, but rather is based on his timeless love for you.  Embrace Jesus and experience his four-dimensional, never-ending, love for you.