“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19, NKJV).
Rooted and grounded here means “to build under you a deep and stable foundation of knowing and understanding the love of God to you.” The knowledge of God’s love for you is the foundational truth upon which all others truths must be built!
For example, a holy fear of God is not a dread that he is ready to strike you down if you are caught in some little fault. Rather, it is the dread of his holiness against rebellion and of what he does to those who love darkness rather than light.
Christians who live in guilt, fear and condemnation are not “rooted and grounded” in the love of God. Our heavenly Father sent his Son to die for our sins and weaknesses. Without fully knowing and fully understanding that kind of love to you, you will never have a stable or permanent foundation.
The Greek word for ‘comprehend’ in verse 18 suggests “to eagerly seize or lay hold of.” The apostle Paul means for you to seize this truth and make it the foundation of your Christian life. Put your spiritual hands out and say, “I am going to lay hold of this!”
Perhaps you are assaulted by a temptation you can’t seem to shake. Maybe you carry a sense of never measuring up, of unworthiness, a fear that the devil is going to trip you up and you will fail God.
This is the day for you to wake up to God’s love for you. I pray as you read this that something will strike deep in your heart and you can say, “That’s me and I don’t want to live this way!” I pray that you will get hold of this truth and that it will open your eyes and help you enter a whole new realm of joy and peace in your daily walk with him.