"God Gives the Love"

The love of a good dog can be hard to beat,

He’s happy to see you and sits at your feet,

Watching for smiles and hoping for treats,

God gives us the love of a good dog.

The love of an equine you bond with and ride,

Is a special connection, in you I’ll confide,

At the death of a horse the cowboys have cried,

God gives us the love of a good horse.

The love of your daddy and your mother, too,

Gives you life’s head-start on what you should do,

And they still are with you long after they’re through,

God gives us the love of our daddy.

The love of a friend is something we need,

Stands with you through trials when you hurt and you bleed,

Faithfully helping you harvest life’s seed,

God gives us the love of a friend.

The love of a child is as sweet as can be,

Their laughter and hugs and their sweetness you see,

We feed, school and raise ‘em and then set them free,

God gives us the love of a child.

The love of a woman is a life-changing force,

It’s makes you or breaks you as the years take their course,

Inspires and encourages, will always endorse,

God gives us the love of a woman.

The love of the Savior is what life’s about,

And shows us what we can do with and without,

Nothing can separate, there is no doubt,

God gives us the love of the Savior.

And when we give others the love we’ve received,

It shows to them clearly the things we’ve believed,

Being a blessing, from burdens relieved,

God gives us the love we give others.

“And 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…” (Ephesians 3:18, NLT)

Knowing the dimensions of God’s love comes only by revelation. Paul says we should understand it, but the grandeur and immensity of the love is beyond human comprehension. Our limited intellects can’t fully grasp it. Human beings are emotionally incapable of embracing God’s love in its entirely, yet God says we can. How? He shows it, shares it, makes it real, and helps us understand it. He makes the impossible, possible, the unknowable, knowable. He takes something that is eternal in scope and puts it inside us so that the most mundane schedule is enhanced. He applies it to the deepest hurt and it gets healed. He applies it to the strongest addiction and it goes away. He applies it to the most hopeless person, and their expectations are lifted. He makes the richness and power and eternal reach of it something we can know and celebrate and share with others. We get to receive the river, be in the river, and have the river flow through us. There is nothing better. There is nothing greater.

Lord, show us the dimensions of Your love, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Alfredo Rogriguez, alfredoartist.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Alfredo, and God bless you.