The Transcendent Love

"Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (John 13:1)

The love of Christ! The heart is unable to express the love of our dear and blessed Lord, this love that is limitless and incomparable. All the saints of God who spoke or wrote about the love of Christ, never showed its perfection and breadth, its height and depth, for it is"the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).

And yet we do know the love of Christ, and although we cannot fully comprehend this great and eternal love, our hearts can enjoy it, and we can grow in the knowledge of it. And the Lord Himself, whose love is directed toward us, desires us to drink continually of the river of His unchanging love, and to receive new evidences, new glimpses, of this love.

The Holy Spirit is ever eager to make known to our weak hearts and pour into them the love of Christ. The love of our Lord is an eternal love. It is not an event in time, but precedes the foundation of the world. The eye of His grace has looked upon us, and His love has been directed toward us before we were. He knew our wickedness, our enmity, our corruption, and in a love that surpasses knowledge He looked forward to the time when He would show His love to us, His fallen creatures.

It was love that brought Him from glory. What great love made Him descend to this dark, sin-stricken, enemy-filled earth! What great love made Him emptied Himself, and take the form of a servant. Truly a love that surpasses knowledge.

And what great love do we see at every step of that lonely path! What great compassion do we discover in every action and in every word. Wherever we look, there is love, and with it He has surrounded the poor, the sinners, the brokenhearted, the oppressed, and the outcast. Love has carried those weak and fallen disciples who believed in Him.

By Andrew Eden