“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
So much to ponder in that one sentence.
Being loved by God is something that Paul keeps coming back to in Ephesians. We saw it in 1:4, “In love He predestined us….” We saw it in 2:4, “But because of His great love for us….” We saw it in 3:17-18, “I pray that you… may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”
Again we see here how Paul grounds our practice of the Christian life with solid theological truth. Why are we to live a life of love? It is because we have been so dearly and clearly loved by Christ – who died to prove how much He loved us. To say it the way that John says it: “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Reflecting on the deep deep love of Christ regularly is imperative to living a life that models what Christ did for us. Why? Because it is easy to forget. It is easy to stop remembering as the Ephesians well know. In Revelation 2:4, Jesus is addressing the church in Ephesus, after commending them on many things He says, “Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love.”
Never forget the depths of His great love. Perhaps you might ponder the words of this great hymn to help you remember and then listen reflectively as it is sung.
VERSE 1
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me
Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of Your love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Your glorious rest above
VERSE 2
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Spread His praise from shore to shore
How He came to pay our ransom
Through the saving cross He bore
How He watches o’er His loved ones
Those He died to make His own
How for them He’s interceding
Pleading now before the throne
VERSE 3
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Far surpassing all the rest
It’s an ocean full of blessing
In the midst of every test
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Mighty Savior, precious Friend
You will bring us home to glory
Where Your love will never end