Ephesians 3: 14-21
Rev. Nick Cheek
Paul’s prayer for us this morning is this – that we might have the power to comprehend the breadth, width, height, and depth of Christ’s love. He prays that we would find strength, but not in human might…not a strength rooted in our wealth, or our degrees, or our status, or our privilege. For Paul, those things hold no real power. Real power… power that has the most significance and influence in our lives and the world around us is rooted in the love of Christ.
Christian pastor and Author Charles Spurgeon writes about this deep love. He says, “The love of Christ in its sweetness, its fullness, its greatness, its faithfulness, passes all human comprehension. Where shall language be found which shall describe his matchless, his unparalleled love towards the children of the world? It is so vast and boundless that, as the swallow but skimmeth the water, and diveth not into its depths, so all descriptive words but touch the surface, while depths immeasurable lie beneath. Well might the poet say, “O love, thou fathomless abyss!”
When I was a young boy learning how to swim, I was afraid of the deep end of the pool. I avoided that dark blue water like the plague. The shallow water was where it was at. It was safer there… you could walk… keep you head above the water. I could never understand what was so special about the deep end and why some of the kids were infatuated about diving down to touch the bottom. I thought they were crazy. It was so dark down there – you couldn’t see. And…being a 90’s child I always assumed Jaws was patiently swimming around in circles waiting for me to jump on in so he could enjoy a snack.
I was so against making the plunge that my instructors actually had to throw me in against my will. I guess that’s how they did it back then – they just threw you to the sharks. Over and over again, I cried and swam back to the edge, but they continued until they figured out it wasn’t going to work with me. And then… Sarah came to my rescue that I finally stopped crying. Sarah was the only instructor who had compassion for my fear. She took me under her wing. She met me where I was. Every day, she would start with me in the shallow end and gently, patiently, walk with me toward the deep. It took half of the summer before I was able to float in the deep end. I would hold on tightly to Sarah as the other children laughed… but she disregarded them. She told me over and over again… “It’s okay… you’re fine… you’re doing great. You’re so brave. You got this.” Sarah’s care and love are what helped me overcome the fear of the deep. By the end of the summer… the instructors started calling me fishy because they couldn’t get me out of the deep end. The shallow water was a thing of the past for me.
Church, sometimes diving deep into the love of God can be scary, too. We’re hesitant. We’re not sure what we’re going to find down there. We’re uncertain of what deep love might do… to us. How might this love shape our lives? How might it touch our hearts? Will this love inspire us to change ourselves… will this love open our eyes to see the world differently… will it call us to sacrifice too much… to give too much… to forgive too much? Paul says that this Love of Christ is powerful… shouldn’t we be careful with that kind of love? Shouldn’t we wade into that water cautiously? As a matter of fact, maybe it’s safer to stay in the shallow end of that love and not get too carried away? In the shallow end, we can see everything, touch everything, understand everything… where we don’t have to worry about getting dragged down into the depths of the unknown. Hey Paul, if you’re okay with it… I’m just gonna stick right here on the edge of the shore man I’m good. No really…it’s fine.. this is fine. This is all I need Paul… I appreciate the prayer and the invitation to go deeper…yada yada… but I think I’m just gonna sit here in my sun chair… and let the waves splash on my legs a little… Right here is pleasantly perfect … I can see the deep water, but I don’t have to get in it… I can imagine how incredible and wondrous it is… but this is deep enough.
But how deep is deep enough, church?
That’s the real question, isn’t it?
Because here’s the truth — it’s not that God’s love has limits… It’s that sometimes we do.
We decide how far we’ll go. We can dip our toes in. We can float around on the surface.
Or — we can let go, trust the water, and dive in. Deeper and deeper into the vastness of God’s transforming love.
And I wonder… when the world looks at the church today — when it looks at us — does it see people splashing around in the shallow end? Or does it see a community that’s been immersed in the deep waters of Christ’s love, shaped and changed by it?
I wonder what Paul saw when he looked at the church in Ephesus.
Why did he pray this prayer for them — that they would know how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ truly is?
Surely, they’d already heard the message. They’d worshiped, studied, been baptized, and shared communion. They weren’t strangers to the story.
And neither are we. We’ve heard it all our lives — in Sunday School, in sermons, in song. “Jesus loves me, this I know…”
We know it. But maybe Paul is reminding us: knowing about God’s love isn’t the same as being transformed by it.
Maybe Paul understood that it’s possible to talk about love without ever fully trusting it. To memorize Bible verses, sing all the right hymns, say all the right things — And still keep one foot in the shallow end, afraid to lose control. Afraid to go deeper.
Because the love of Christ isn’t something you simply study.
It’s something you surrender to. Something that takes hold of you, changes you, and pulls you into a new way of being.
My friends, my brothers and sisters, my church… I have a question for you… Do you think the world needs shallow love right now? Look around, we’re a mess, and shallow love isn’t going to cut it. Shallow love isn’t going to make any waves. Because shallow love – is weak… it gives up when it gets hard. Shallow love is focused on the self. Shallow love doesn’t have the power to heal wounds or forgive an enemy. It can’t embrace the outsider or welcome the stranger. It’s not strong enough to celebrate differences or cross boundaries. To build bridges. Shallow love just isn’t strong enough for what the world needs right now.
What I think the world desperately needs —
Is for faithful folks to take the plunge… to get off the innertubes and sink deeper and deeper into the love of Christ. Deeper into the abbys… into a love that holds space for difference, a love that shows up for each other, a love that seeks reconciliation… a love that forgives again and again— A love that persists. A love that keeps loving in spite of hate… a love that looks like Jesus. [Pause]
Last week, Andrea Gibson passed away. Andrea was a spoken word poet, an author, and a supporter of positive mental health. They was especially courageous in giving queer youth a voice and a space to be known, understood, and loved. Andrea lived and loved deeply. I recently read a quote from Andrea about love that I think perfectly describes the love of Christ.
“In the end, I want my heart to be covered in stretch marks.”
Isn’t that brilliant? Isn’t that what loving deeply does to us. At times it’s heartwrenching to love like this.
To love like this means opening ourselves up to feel the full spectrum of human experience: the joy and the sorrow, the tenderness and the heartache
To love deeply is to open our hearts to all of it—celebration, loss, beauty, betrayal, wonder, grief, laughter.
That kind of love will not only fill us up… it also has the possibility of breaking us open. [Pause] But Paul thinks it’s worth it, church. So do I. It’s worth it because this love—the love that dares to risk, and dares to hope—transforms us.
“I pray that you might have the power to comprehend the breadth, width, height, and depth of Christ’s love.”
When I think Jesus’ ministry… he didn’t glide through life untouched, protected, or perfect… he arrived at the end of all things with a heart that had been stretched.
So may it be so for us. May we plunge into the abyss…
May we love boldly enough to be changed.
May we risk enough to be stretched.
And may grace meet us along the way.
In the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. Amen.