Ephesians 3:17-19 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.
There are many things that are advertised in our culture that will make you happy. However, the simple truth is that “stuff” can never produce lasting joy or fulfillment. God has made us in such a way that the only thing that truly satisfies and enlivens our hearts and minds is love, and the joy it produces.
True lasting joy is only produced in a human being as we receive and give genuine affection and love. This must be carefully contrasted with the lust of the flesh. Basic physical and sexual lust can be purely selfish and can be as destructive to real joy as greed and avarice.
The true hope for any soul to experience genuine, long term, satisfying joy is the love of Christ. The love of Christ is worthy of a life-time of pursuit. To truly know the love of Christ is our greatest goal and most satisfying pursuit. Jesus models and enables our pursuit of love by His life here, His sacrificial death for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave…” (John 3:16) This love saves us, purifies us and protects us even as it fills us with meaning and purpose. This love gives us discernment and satisfies the deepest needs and longing of our heart and soul. Jesus never made His love for us difficult to find. We simply receive Him and then we launch into a relationship of simple obedience.
The purpose of my writing today is simple. I am pointing to the greatest treasure on earth and saying; Look there it is! Right there… look, go pick it up, unpack it. Receive it! Don’t be satisfied any longer in pursing treasure that cannot satisfy. Seek the treasure that as you find it, it fills you with life, and constantly leads to greater treasure. Oh, the love of God, this love that surpasses knowledge, Lord we want more of you!