“Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” Eph. 6:24
Lord Jesus, if the question is, “What’s the bottom-line, ‘whole enchilada and shebang,’ main thing and consuming passion of the Christian life? The final verse in Ephesians perfectly sums it up. We are to love you with an “undying love”—an unrivaled, constantly-fueled, ever-growing love. That is the only worthy response to who you are, Jesus, and the multiple ways you love us.
As our Savior you love us with a perfect and complete salvation. Having taken our judgment on the cross, you gave us your righteousness through the Gospel.
As our King you love us with uncontested sovereignty, working in all things for our good—ruling over disruptions and elections, evil and the environment, our greatest joys and deepest traumas.
As our Good Shepherd you love us with providential care and kindness—even in the valley of the shadow of death. You are with us and for us—all the time in every place all the way Home.
As our High Priest you love us in our brokenness, sin, and weaknesses—as no one else can or will. You bear our burdens, and you forbear with us. Thank you!
As our Bridegroom you love us with passion and delight beyond our imagining—not like a “metaphorical spouse,” but as the Spouse we always wanted (Eph.3:18-19).
Jesus, your love for us is the main constant in our lives, only equaled by our constant need for it. Please re-stoke the fires of our love for you. Restore the love we first had for you when you gave us the new birth, a new heart, and new life. Then super-size, intensify, and channel it for your glory So Very Amen.
