Godly Affection

[That you] 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 3:18-19 ESV

Gretchen shifted to the right side of the sidewalk as she prepared to pass a fellow runner with her dog. The woman focused straight ahead, earbuds plugged in perhaps to avoid others on the path, but the lean, black lab clearly looked excited to greet her. As they passed, the friendly “tail wagger” sneaked a quick lick to Gretchen’s hand, and she felt sure he smiled as he did so.

If the dog’s owner saw it, she didn’t act like it. Gretchen laughed out loud. That friendly canine got a lick in. He was determined to greet her affectionately. Gretchen smiled and her thoughts immediately turned to God and His constant desire to lavish her with love and affection.

God’s love for you far exceeds the affection of a friendly dog, but He does desire to lavish you with His presence and consume you with all that He is. He desires relationship with you. He wants you to know Him by experiencing His affection.

The words from Ephesians 3:18-19 say, when you are able to experience the width, length, depth and height – the volume of God’s affection, that experience passes all knowledge and fills you with the fullness of God.

Feeling God’s affection brings pleasure and exhilaration to your hearts.

Today’s One Thing

The next time you fill up a sink or bathtub, think about the fullness of the water – look at the width, length, depth and height – the volume of the presence of the water. Imagine God’s presence filling your heart to capacity the way the water fills that which contains it. God wants to fill you to overflowing with all He is.

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