Astonishing Love

Recently, I stood out under the beautiful African night sky.  No light pollution.  Nothing to hinder the brilliance of the stars.  It took my breath away!  Could I stand on tiptoe and touch a star?  So close.  So brilliant.  So vast.  I saw the Southern Cross, Orion’s Belt, and the Milky Way.

I thought of the verse in Psalm 147.4, He counts the stars and calls them all by name! (Exclamation mark added by me.) 

It’s at moments like this when I’m overwhelmed by the cosmic greatness of my God and His love for me . . . If He cares about a star, how much more does He care about me, His very own child?  If He sees each star individually, uniquely, does He not see me individually and uniquely too?

God’s love for His children is more than we can comprehend.  It’s shocking.  Awe-inspiring.  All-consuming. God doesn’t dole out a measly trickle of love instead it’s a waterfall gushing over us; overwhelming, overpowering, and irresistible.  

 

Sheridan Voysey, in her book Resilient writes this:

Picture a grain of sand placed next to a skyscraper.

Compare a single microbe to our largest planet, Jupiter.

Picture the tiniest trickle alongside the mightiest of rivers.

Imagine the faintest scent against the strongest perfume.

The quietest bird call against the loudest thunder clap.

Compare a tiny water drop to the Pacific Ocean.

The flicker of a candle to the blaze of the sun.

A single leaf to a forest of trees . . .

That’s how tiny human love is compared to the great love God has for you!

I love this!

My prayer for you is the same prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesians.  “May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.”  (Ephesians 3.18-19)