Rooted in Love: Understanding God’s Immeasurable Love

What does it truly mean to be rooted in and established in love? This isn’t about feelings or emotions that come and go. It’s not about pop songs or high school crushes. We’re talking about something that surpasses all our knowledge and understanding – the love of God.

The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:8 that “anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” This means God’s core nature is self-giving, sacrificial agape love. That’s who He is at His essence.

Why Being Rooted in Love Matters

If we’re not rooted in love – if we’re rooted in anything else other than love – then we’re not rooted in God. But when we are rooted in love, we’re anchored in the very character of God Himself.

Many Christians and churches today are like bags of chips – they appear full but are mostly filled with air. As 1 Corinthians 8:1 reminds us, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” We can have extensive knowledge about God, success in ministry, and pride in our service, but if love isn’t at the foundation, we’re just inflated with air.

God doesn’t want us puffed up; He wants us built up. And the only way this happens is through His agape love influencing our lives.

How Vast Is God’s Love?

In Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prays that believers would be “rooted and established in love” and would have power to grasp “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Then he adds that this love “surpasses knowledge.”

This means we cannot fully define, explain, or understand God’s love. No amount of human reasoning or brain power can capture it. No words can adequately describe it. God’s love is infinite.

While we can’t fully understand God’s love, we can experience it. God’s Word isn’t just something to study but something to experience – not just individually but communally as a church.

How High Is God’s Love?

Psalm 103 tells us God’s unfailing love is “as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.” Scientists have measured objects 46.5 billion light-years away, and the universe extends beyond what we can measure. God’s love is that high and beyond – it’s immeasurable.

How Wide Is God’s Love?

Isaiah 59:1 says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save.” How wide are God’s arms of salvation? Look at the Cross. His arms are wide enough to cover all our sins, to reach around us, to gather in the broken, to find the prodigal, and to cover every sin committed in our lives.

How Deep Is God’s Love?

Psalm 139:8 declares, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” God’s love is deep enough to reach the bottom of the Marianas Trench – the deepest known place on our planet. There’s no place that God’s love can’t reach you.

If you’re in a pit this morning, facing despair, God’s love is accessible to you there. Your circumstances don’t define God’s love, but His love can define your circumstances.

How Long Is God’s Love?

Psalm 136 repeats the phrase “His faithful love endures forever” 26 times. God’s love is not temporary or fragile. It’s not limited by your behavior. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Him. Even death cannot cancel God’s love – it endures forever.

What Happens When We’re Not Rooted in Love?

It’s possible for individuals, families, and churches to be rooted in something other than God’s love. We might be rooted in:

• Tradition and ritual
• Doctrine and theology
• Programs and activities
• Leadership and authority
• Moralism or legalism
• Political activism
• Fear and control

Many of these things sound good on the surface, but if we’re rooted in anything other than God’s love, we gain nothing. As 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us, without love, we are nothing and gain nothing.

Without love:

• Our traditions become empty routines
• Our theology makes us arrogant and divisive
• Our programs leave us busy without influence
• Our political activism alienates those Jesus came to rescue
• Our fear creates anxiety and mistrust

What Happens When We Are Rooted in Love?

When we’re rooted and established in God’s love, everything changes:

• Our traditions become meaningful expressions of faith
• Our theology brings us together in understanding and compassion
• Our programs develop deep, lasting relationships
• Our involvement in society fosters unity and justice
• Our church thrives in an atmosphere of freedom and peace

When love is our foundation, we reap a harvest of life-giving connections with one another and with God Himself.

How to Respond with Love in Daily Life

Being rooted in love doesn’t mean you’ll never feel frustrated, angry, or afraid. But it does mean love becomes the well you draw from when it’s time to respond.

There’s a difference between your first thought and your first response. You’re not responsible for your first thought – thoughts happen automatically. You might feel angry, defensive, insecure, or fearful. These feelings are normal chemical responses.

But you are responsible for your second thought and your first action. That’s where love steps in. You can’t always control your first thought, but you can always choose your first response.

For example:

• When your spouse is upset with you, your first thought might be defensiveness, but your second thought can be to listen and understand
• When a coworker takes credit for your work, your first feeling might be anger, but you can choose to let it go and trust God with the outcome

God’s Abundant Love

Ephesians 3:20 tells us God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” When you’re rooted in God’s love, He will give you His desires and share His plans. And when you start asking for the things God desires, He shows up and exceeds anything you can dream of.

In Luke 6:38, Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.” God isn’t stingy – He’s the God of immeasurably more. When we’re rooted in His love, that’s the abundance we draw upon.

Life Application

Take a moment to ask yourself: What am I rooted in? What drives me? Where am I getting my sustainment for life?

Whatever you’re rooted in will determine the fruit you see in your life:

• If you’re rooted in fear, your fruit will be anxiety
• If you’re rooted in pride, your fruit will be division
• If you’re rooted in control, your fruit will be mistrust
• But if you’re rooted in God’s love, your fruit will be joy, freedom, peace, and life

Here are some questions to reflect on this week:

1. In what areas of my life am I drawing from God’s love, and where am I trying to operate in my own strength?
2. When was the last time I experienced God’s love in a way that surpassed my understanding?
3. How can I respond with love this week, even when my first thought is something else?
4. What would it look like for me to ask God to do “immeasurably more” in my life and through me?

The challenge is to be a person, a family, and a church that is rooted in love. Let’s give God room to do immeasurably more than we could ever imagine. Remember, you cannot experience this love unless you’re surrendered to Him. If you haven’t yet given your life to Jesus, today can be your day to experience the fullness of God’s immeasurable love.