This week’s text in Ephesians 3:17-19 touches the very foundations of our life in God:

We keep Christ in our heart by believing in Him. This is more than just believing that He exists—it is trusting in Him. When we do this we become rooted and grounded in love because “God is love,” and if He is abiding in our heart He will always lead us to love.

It is noteworthy that he does not say “rooted and grounded in sound doctrine” here. Sound doctrine is important of course, but what really establishes us in Christ is love, not just doctrine. As Paul stated so wonderfully in I Corinthians 13, we can have all knowledge, and even all faith so as to remove mountains, but if we do not have love it has profited us nothing! Think about that. Should we not therefore pursue love above all things?

As this text declares, it is as we are rooted and grounded in love that we come to know the “breadth and length and height and depth.” We might rephrase this accurately to say, “It is by love that we come to know anything.” If love is not the foundation of our knowledge, then the knowledge will not be accurate. Anything but love distorts knowledge.

We will not be able to really know a person until we love that person. Anything but love will cause us to misunderstand them. If you love someone you will tend to know him or her more deeply than you would otherwise. Likewise, we will not be able to really know a country until we love that country. If we love a country we will be compelled to know it better and understand it more deeply. We will not be able to know any subject with much depth until we love that subject. You will never really know math until you begin to love math. You will never know history until you begin to love history. Love draws us past the superficial. Therefore, love is the foundation of true knowledge.

It is in this way that we are led by the Lord in our studies. In school there were many things I had to learn to pass, but if I did not love those subjects I would learn just enough to get by, and probably have not used that knowledge much since. However, the things that I love I continue to pursue. This is why Jesus said living waters come from our “innermost being,” or our heart. Therefore, what is life to you will be what you care the deepest about. It is in this way that we should be led through life by love.

Those who are led by love will never be superficial. Love compels us to know the depth, height, width, and breadth. Love compels us to go further. That is why we read in the next verse that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge, and it is by His love that we are “filled up to all of the fulness of God.” If we are being led through life by a love for God we will continually be drawn to Him until we know His fulness. This text implies that we can actually know Him that well.

Does this mean we can know everything that there is to know about God? That is not exactly what this text is saying. For example, I can drink ocean water until I am filled with it, but that does not mean the whole ocean is in me. We can become filled with God, or know the fullness of God as much as is humanly possible, but that does not mean all of God is in us. However, those who are filled with God are going to know everything else with greater depth, breadth, etc., than they could otherwise.

Of course, our love for God should surpass all other loves in our life. If we are led through life by our love for Christ, we will have a life that greatly transcends just having knowledge—it will be a life that is filled with life because it is filled with love. Love is the foundation of true knowledge, and is the path of life.

So why not determine to go to work today filled with love for God, and the love of God, to love all you come in contact with, and even love your job. By doing this, you will be amazed at how you see and understand everything much better than ever before. You will also be filled with life that will touch and awaken others to the true love of God.