◄ The BREADTH of God’s Superlative Love - Character and Attributes of God (12) ►

STUDY - Character and Attributes of GOD

"For God SO loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"
John 3:16

Special Verse

This is the first simple verse that many a young child learns to recite, and yet many believe God is more likely to ignore us and stay away than love us. Many are more ready to believe He’s mad with them than that He loves them dearly. How sad.

Span of Love

Yes – God’s Love spans the breadth and length and depth and height of eternity. Paul tells us: "you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge". Eph.3:17

Depth of Grace

The dimensions and depths of His grace are incalculable. The capacity and proportions of His promises are innumerable. The extent and magnitude of His wisdom is immeasurable. His yearnings and tender love towards us is unceasing. His love is without bars, barricades, or blockages, and His love is all-embracing and all-encompassing.

Universal Love

His love is without race or class or creed or national barriers, for He loved the Syrophoenician woman and the Roman centurion without prejudice. His love is without age or popularity... or financial or cultural barriers. He loves both old and young, both rich and poor, both sinner and saint.

Unprejudiced Love

His love is even without a pride barrier, for He knelt to wash the feet of His prideful disciples, and He loved the prideful, self-satisfied, rich young ruler. He loves all without discrimination or bigotry, intolerance, or favouritism. And the love of Christ continues to stretch to the breadth of understanding.

Limited Perception

Yet so many limit His goodness to their own earthly experience. They choose to view His love and grace to the limits of their understanding – to view it to the extent to which they themselves understand love. And they refuse to recognise His love if it is not what they expect – if it is not proffered in the way that they want or imagine.

Unfailing Love

But His love never fails. It never, ever fails – despite our failings and doubts and fears. The breadth of His love encompasses the whole world in its fallen state. It touches man, and the material world and all that is tainted by suffering and sin: for God not only loved the world – God SO loved the world….."

God 'SO' Loved

It was once said that if you can estimate the word, 'SO'… "or God SO loved…" – if you can evaluate the breadth of meaning of that little word “SO”…. then you comprehend the very depth and complexity and unfathomable nature of God.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man’s mind.
And the heart of the eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

Everlasting Love

Jeremiah like Paul reminds us of the immeasurable breadth of His love, "God loves you with an everlasting love". Jer.31:3. God loves you with an everlasting love and Jesus loves with an everlasting love. Our Lord did not pray for the world that the world might be saved… He prayed: "that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" John 17:21 AND… that He loved them. John 13:1

Measure of Love

How meager and ineffective is our own comprehension of God’s love. How weak and defective is our own love, for we sit in prideful palaces. It was once said we must go down lower than to the lowest reaches of hell if we would begin to touch a measure of the extremity of God’s love.

A Tiny Glimpse

Were we to be given the slightest glimpse of the true love of God.. through the lowering clouds of unknowing in the mists of life’s uncertainties, I doubt temptation’s unbelief would ever darken our questioning hearts again.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man’s mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

If our love were but more simple,
We would take Him at His word;
And our life would be thanksgiving
For the goodness of the Lord.