As I continued to think about God’s love in this season of Lent, I was intrigued by this statement from The Wonderful Works of God by H. Bavinck: “God is known in proportion to the extent that He is Loved.”
I realize that we can only love God because He first loved us. It reminded me of N.T. Wright’s story about a card he received with a circle on it.
N.T. Wright writes,
“When I was ordained deacon, thirty-five years ago, my aunt, who is a nun in Fairacres convent in Oxford, sent me a card with a circle on it. The circle is explained by some words of John Donne: God’s love is like a circle; and a circle is endless. Whom God loves, he loves to the end; and his end is, not that he should cease to love them; no: his end is, to love them still. … Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the uttermost. He loved them eis telos, ‘to the end’: there was nothing that love could do for them that love did not do for them.” (Ntwrightpage, 2023).
God loves us with a neverending love. When we realize the enormity of His love, we are filled to overflowing with love for Him. As our love for God grows, so does our knowledge of God. As our understanding of God grows, so does our love for Him because we know more fully, more deeply, more and more how much He loves us … and so the circle goes on.
You Are A Theologian
I’ve been reading J.T. English and Jen Wilkin’s book, You Are a Theologian. Chapter seven is the “Hallelujah” chapter! The authors write,
“Consider the magnificent sweep of what He has accomplished for us: In Christ, you are forgiven In Christ, you are saved In Christ, you are justified In Christ, you are reconciled In Christ, you are loved In Christ, you are adopted In Christ, you are cleansed In Christ, you are healed In Christ, you are redeemed In Christ, you are free In Christ, you are rescued In Christ, you are triumphant In Christ, you have hope In Christ, you have an inheritance In Christ, you have peace In Christ, you have rest …
With such a catalog of grace, let it never be said that Christians ran short in speech to describe how great a salvation we have received in Christ.” (English & Wilkin, 2023)
A Hymn of Praise
I grew up singing this hymn of praise — it has a fascinating history (Martin, 2024):
Could we, with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky. O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure— The saints’ and angels’ song.
May our hearts spill over with love for God because He loves the world, even you and me, with neverending love! He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and planted us firmly in His Kingdom of Light!
The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, and the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. (2 Corinthians 13:14 MSG)
References
English, J., & Wilkin, J. (2023). You are a theologian: An Invitation to Know and Love God Well. B&H Publishing Group.
Martin, J. (2024, July 15). The True Story of “The Love of God” is Greater Far – Christian Scholar’s Review. Christian Scholar’s Review. https://christianscholars.com/the-true-story-of-the-love-of-god-is-greater-far/
Ntwrightpage. (2023, December 25). The Circle of Love – NTWRightPage. NTWrightPage. https://ntwrightpage.com/2016/03/30/the-circle-of-love/
