How Deep The Father’s Love For Us

Song written by: Stuart Townend
Performed by: Phillips, Craig & Dean 

Welcome to another weekly devotional inspired by Christian songs! I am so thankful you have chosen to journey another week through another song.

Recently, God has laid it on my heart to do an Easter devotional. God has spoken to me through promptings of our church's worship leader, who has focused this Lent season on the cross. We all love to celebrate the Risen Jesus – the Resurrection. And rightly so. But for many of us, it's easier to skip past the cross…Jesus on the cross. Because, quite frankly, we don't want to think about our part in putting Jesus on that cross.

But, dear one, the truth is we are all very much a part of the cross, just as much as we are a part of the celebration of the resurrection. It's my sin that put Jesus on that cross. And, oh, how hard it is to embrace that statement sometimes.But each believer must come to terms with that statement – we must fully accept it. Thankfully, we have the merciful assistance of the Holy Spirit.

But God is guiding me to take it one step further this week. I want to challenge each of us to see the heart of the cross – the heart of Jesus and God.His never-ending love for us brought Him to the cross. I must confess I am in a personal season of deepening appreciation of the Father's love for us – for me. I think He's working on my heart, to say the least. I am journeying through a bible study focused significantly on God's love, many songs that stand out to me right now declare His love repeatedly and in different areas, our adoption process and changes at work leads me to deeper certainty of His love...honestly, the list could go on. Apparently, I need lots of reinforcement – lots of proof. But, thank you Lord, your love keeps revealing itself to me.

Oh, how He loves us – how vast and deep and wide the Father's love is for us.He pursued you – He pursued me – through the cross. And for that, I shall forever praise His name.

I do want to make one small theological note this week. As I dug into Scripture and commentaries this week, I realized that even the Easter story is full of theological debate of some of the events, the circumstances, and the meanings. As I've said before, and will continue to say, I am not a seminary-trained individual. There are areas in these devotions that may not align fully with your beliefs. I believe there are many things our human minds just won't fully comprehend on this side of heaven. That's ok with me. I believe God invites us to wrestle with Him on those points, those questions.I know He challenged me even this week to wrestle with some of the events surrounding Easter. For any areas in the devotional you do not fully agree with, or maybe don't even fully understand yourself…I ask for your forgiveness and I invite you to use those areas to stir conversations with the Holy Spirit. We can learn so much as we pursue Him and His wisdom. Our Heavenly Father is faithful to provide – even in wisdom.

On that final note…I ended another devotional recently with this Scripture reference, but it's so fitting yet again that I cannot help but include it.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 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, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

- Ephesians 3: 17b-19