God Is Love
Eph. 3:14-19
As you know from these verses, this is a prayer that the Apostle Paul wrote for the Christians in Ephesus. But it’s also a prayer for us modern-day Christians. There is a lot in these 6 verses, but I’m going to focus in on the ones about God’s love for us.
In verse 17, Paul writes that Christians, particularly the Ephesians are already rooted and grounded in love. “Rooted” of course is a tern related to plants. If a plant doesn’t have a good root system, it will not survive or it won’t be healthy. The Greek word for “grounded” is an architectural term. If a building doesn’t have a good, solid foundation, it won’t be stable and it may even fall. Paul’s meaning in this verse is that we must be firmly and intimately established in our relationship with God and His love for us. We need to read God’s word which tells us about God’s love for us. We need to be absolutely convinced of God’s love for us. God wants us to be so firmly established in His love, so firmly convinced of His love for us that we will be able to understand how wide and long and deep and high God’s love is, to understand the magnitude of His love for us.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in His Son will not perish in hell but have eternal life in the presence of God and Jesus Christ. This is how much God loves you (spread my arms). Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before I accepted Jesus as my Savior, God loved me. 1 John 3:1 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (NIV)
I like that word “lavished.”
It’s hard for me to imagine with all the evil people in the world that God loves them all and wants all of them to repent of their sins and turn to Him by accepting Jesus as their Savior.
1 John 4:9 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
There’s a song I learned many years ago. Part of the chorus is “Lord, I’m amazed by You, how You love me; how wide, how deep, how great is Your love for me.”
Nurture your relationship with Jesus, with God, the Father, so that you can understand and comprehend His love for you. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are God’s child, and those of us who are parents know how much we love our own children and how we try to do our best for them.
Why is my website named Yucca-network? Almost everywhere I’ve lived and where my wife and I lived, there were Yucca plants of some variety, even when we lived in northern Montana. In one place we lived, our house was built into a hillside where there were many yucca plants. The name of our street had “Yucca” in it. The plant is resilient, adaptable, and hard to get rid of if you don’t like it. For some reason, it has become one of my favorite plants. Along with writing, I’m also an artist who likes to draw or paint pictures of yucca plants. I recently acquired a painting that my maternal grandmother painted when she was probably in her 90s. It’s a desert scene with several yucca plants in it. It’s a treasured possession.
In my research into the different varieties of the yucca plant, I discovered Yucca whipple (aka Hesperoyucca whipplei). It grows mostly in the southwestern United States. One of its common names is “our Lord’s candle.” That name intrigued me. According to what I learned from my research, it’s towering, flame-like, white inflorescence (flower cluster) “glows like a divine beacon.” Thus, the term “candle.”
A candle, when lit, produces light. I am an ardent believer in the Bible, God’s Word. I’ve read through it many times and studied it for many years. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 119:105 which states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (NIV). God’s word shows us how to live our lives according to His will and plans for our lives. Another of my favorite verses is Hebrews 4:12. It states that God’s word is “living and powerful.” As I’ve read and studied the Bible seriously and intensely for over forty years, I can testify that my life has been literally and dramatically changed, for the better. My late wife would also testify to the changes that have taken place in me. It’s my prayer that every person would read and study God’s word. People in other parts of the world are begging to have their own Bible.
So, to me, “our Lord’s candle” is a symbol of God’s word. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1 that God’s divinity and power can be seen in His creation. Yucca whipplei is one of His many creations.
Recently, I self-published my first novel. Its title is Uncommon Grace.
A story of adventure, drama and romance
“Disillusioned and angry at God for what happened to his family during the Civil War, young Frank Duncan leaves his home in rural Georgia to escape the memories and find his own way in life. Though wise in some ways, he encounters many challenges that shake his own personal confidence and his belief in God. What will he find as he travels to Texas and beyond?”
It is available on as an eBook or paperback 0n Amazon.com (Amazon.com: Uncommon Grace eBook : Taylor, Lamar: Kindle Store). If you read it, please add a review to the Amazon site. Thank you.
Hi! I’m Lamar.
For 20 years, I worked in several western states as a Rangeland Management Specialist, overseeing livestock grazing on Public and Forest lands.
At 44 years of age, my wife (she was a science teacher) and i left our jobs and went to Bible college for two years. We were pastors and assistant pastors for several years, all in the western US.
