Deep And Wide

Ephesians 3:16-21 (NIV)  "16) I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18) 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, 19) and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  20) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21) to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen."

If ever there was a heart that truly desired for the Christian to have an enlightened walk with God, it was Paul!  These six verses are packed with so many aspects of the ingredients which ensure one to be able to live a Spirit-led life.

Verse 16 - We are strengthened with power in our Spirit-man from God's great amount of help.
Verse 17 - We have Christ in our heart by faith.  Our best foundation is the root of love.
Verse 18 - We together with other believers need to continually expand our understanding of Christ's love.
Verse 19 - The revelation of His love, which we will never fully understand in this life, will keep us full of God's characteristics.
Verse 20 - God is the One who owns all power and ability and it's His power, not ours, that brings great things.
Verse 21 - All glory must go to Him, to Jesus, and never ever to any man or thing!

I'm reminded of the Sunday School song, "Deep And Wide".  I have memories of singing this song along with the hand motions during Vacation Bible School at a little Pentecostal church on the North side of Birmingham, near the area where I grew up.  It was one of my favorite songs that we would sing each night.  It is also a song that I taught my girls when they were small and now I sing it with my grandchildren.  "Deep and wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain flowing deep and wide, Deep and wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain flowing deep and wide."

The words are simple and don't offer any explanation of the meaning.  I like to think that it means there's a flow that comes from heaven, from the throne of God's grace and mercy, that is so vast and expansive that we could never explore nor cover all of it.  It is a river of life flowing freely for all who will jump in and partake of its refreshing power.