The Love That Passes Knowledge

. . . That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may . . . know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17–19 RSV

Behind the love of God lies His omniscience—His ability to “know and understand all.” Omniscience is that quality of God which is His alone. God possesses infinite knowledge and an awareness which is uniquely His. At all times, even in the midst of any type of suffering, I can realize that He knows, loves, watches, understands, and, more than that, He has a purpose.

As a boy I grew up in the South. My idea of the ocean was so small that the first time I saw the Atlantic I couldn’t comprehend that any little lake could be so big! The vastness of the ocean cannot be understood until it is seen. This is the same with God’s love. It passes knowledge. Until you actually experience it, no one can describe its wonders to you.

A good illustration of this is a story my wife told me about a little boy in China who saw a man selling cherries; and when he saw the fruit, his eyes filled with longing. But he had no money with which to buy cherries.

The kindly seller asked the boy, “Do you want some cherries?” And the little boy said that he did.

The seller said, “Hold our your hands.” But the little boy didn’t hold out his hands. The seller said again, “Hold out your hands,” but again the little boy would not. The kind seller reached down, took the child’s hands, and filled them with two handfuls of cherries.

Later, the boy’s grandmother heard of the incident and asked, “Why didn’t you hold out your hands when he asked you to?” And the little boy answered, “His hands are bigger than mine!”

God’s hands also are bigger than ours!

Our Father and our God, You are so great and powerful! I cannot begin to understand the vastness of Your knowledge or grace or love. I can only be amazed and overjoyed at the depth of Your care and concern for me. Thank You, Lord, for showering Your blessings and joys on me. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).