Young People's Group

Rooted and Grounded in Love

by Mitchell Tan
March 25, 2020

BEING IMPACTED BY GOD’S GREAT LOVE

God loves us. He always has. And He always will. It was at Easter, more than 2000 years ago, that this great love was expressed in a very definite way when He saved us through the Lord Jesus.

“Because of His great love with which He loved us”
Ephesians 2:4

Through this mega love of the Lord God, even though we were dead in sin, we were made alive with the Lord Jesus. Even though we did not reach out to Him, He still reached out to us. Because of His great love, He has given to us salvation and all the spiritual blessings that will last for all eternity. We should be deeply grateful for the great love that the Lord has been shown us. This love should dwell deeply in our hearts.

INTERNALISING DEEPLY GOD’S GREAT LOVE

“That you, being rooted and grounded in love”
Ephesians 3:17

The apostle Paul, as part of his prayer, wrote of how the Ephesians were to be rooted and grounded in love. He used two different imageries to bring this across.

1. ROOTED IN LOVE – A DEEP KIND OF LOVE

This is an imagery of a tree with deep roots. Love is like a tree that has deep roots in the ground. God’s love had such a great impact on the Ephesians that it became deeply rooted. The love of God and of the Lord Jesus is meant to be deeply rooted within us. This is the power of His love. Until it is firmly rooted, it needs to grow within us.

2. GROUNDED IN LOVE – A STRONG KIND OF LOVE

The second imagery is to bring across the idea that love is seen as a strong foundation. The love of Christ can be very well-established in our hearts. It is an entity that must become strong and steadfast. The foundation of love has already been laid and the challenge is to build on it.

IN-DEPTH RESPONSES OF LOVE

“In love”
Ephesians 3:17

Not only are we to be rooted and grounded in God’s love for us, it is also about our love for Him.

1. TO LOVE THE LORD DEEPLY

Our response to God’s love is to love Him deeply in return. Our part is to possess a strong sense of love for the Lord from our hearts. Let’s learn to cultivate this closeness and love for the Lord.

2. TO LOVE HIS WORD DEEPLY

Another good response is to love the Lord’s wonderful word. Love can be so much more a part of our life when we read, treasure and practise His word.

PERSONAL APPLICATION

Despite going through this time of uncertainty with regards to Covid-19 and the global recession, let’s continue to appreciate the love of the Lord during this Easter time. Let’s focus on what the Lord has done for us on the cross. Does the Lord still love us in such challenging times? The answer is a resounding “yes”. For many of us, we certainly miss being in Church. We may have taken for granted the love of God that has been demonstrated through His people at Bethany. Let’s respond by seeking to hold fast to His love and to love Him with all our heart and soul always.

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