EDITORIAL – The Width of Divine Love
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According to Ephesians 3v6-19, divine love has four dimensions that can not be measured. From verse 16 to verse 19, it is written: « So that (…) you can understand (…) what is 1- width, 2- length, 3- depth, and 4- height, and know the love of God (of Christ) … « . We will present here the dimension that our EDITO N ° 233, namely the width of the divine love, the other dimensions will come after.
Our society, everyone, including us perhaps, is sick of ‘lack of true love’. This is not new. The problem of this deficiency and misunderstanding has two deep roots:
[] the human dimension: because we do not know how to love our neighbor (we are so focused on ourselves); because we do not know how to accept that we are loved (pride helps us in this) and finally maybe we have not been loved;
[] the divine dimension: we find it difficult to perceive that God is love, because in what we consider to be his responsibility, he seems to fail. It seems to us incompatible to speak of the love of God even though suffering is everywhere. It is linked to our misunderstanding of his love.
In spite of these reasons which push both of us to be victims of the lack of love, the fact remains that the love of God is wide, according to the above-mentioned text. Let’s see the context.
The passage that led Paul to speak of the love of God deals with the widening of salvation. Until the coming of Jesus, those who were saved were almost all Jews: the chosen people. But in Jesus Christ, God offers everyone this possibility: from North to South, from West to East, all who turn to God will be saved. The grace of God is manifested in the fact that he sent his Son to testify to this dimension of his love: he saves without distinction of race, sex, social condition. « The Gentiles share in the same promise in Jesus Christ through the gospel » (Ephesians 3v6).
How can we in turn live this dimension of love according to the Bible?
It is normal for us to show the same interest for all, for the people of Israel as for those of the whole world, through our prayer, our interest, our gifts. It is necessary that we keep alive this vision of God for all; a navel vision does not reflect the love of God.
In our personal relationships, indifference can carry us away because of certain ideologies (the rejection of some, racism). In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus reveals the attitude of the religious who were known as racists (Luke 10). Jesus knew how to take an interest in everyone, from the rich young man to the blind beggar, from a prostitute to a tax collector who traded with money. Accepting this dimension of God’s love would largely solve the problem of racism.
The love of the Lord is limitless; it does not depend on the appearance of the one who approaches Him.
LETS LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF GOD BY EXCELLENCE THAT SPEAKS ABOUT THIS LOVE AGAPAO IN ITS GLOBALITY AND PREPARES THE BRIDE TO REMOVE.
Augustin MAKENG/Noella NDOH
