Six-Direction Love

I drew a weathervane in the margin of my Bible. You know, the kind that points East and West, North and South, and is decorated at the top with a rooster or barn. Exactly.

Except I added another arrow pointing up, and another down — a six-direction image like a Christmas-tree star.

I drew the weathervane on a page in Ephesians. The whole book is Paul’s account of God’s love for Gentile believers in Ephesus, people who were not Jews by birth but who were now “heirs together” with the Jews through faith. They had become his beloved people too.

To underscore their place in God, Paul writes “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” And then he adds the weathervane verse — that being rooted and established in love you may “grasp how wide (East to West!), and long (North to South!), and high and deep (Up and Down!) is the love of Christ.

This image of God’s weathervane love came to mind recently when I thought of a friend who is going through hard times. He is unemployed, struggles with mental health, and lives with a challenging friend. So I messaged him a video of musicians singing the song “The Blessing” – the words seemingly inspired from Ephesians 3:

May his presence,
go before you
And behind you
And beside you
All around you
And within you
He is with you
He is for you!

What a blessed truth. My friend thanked me.

But it makes me wonder what our weathervanes of God’s love look like. Is it six-starred? Or do we feel like one or more pointers are bent or even broken off? Perhaps we cannot feel or acknowledge God around us or in us.

Dear friend, I encourage us to rest in God’s love knowing that he is for us, in us, around us. We can rest in that knowledge even when we do not feel that way.

Dear God, thank you for your expansive love. You have rooted us in your love and given us power from your indwelling Holy Spirit. Help us slow down and rest in your great affection – you Love us! Wow, that’s hard to believe, but that is your plan for us today and always. Give us a full image of you for us, loving us from every direction, even from within.

Throughout This Day: Listen to The Blessing on YouTube

and enjoy it. Soak in the blessing the singers extend to you. Relish in the truth that God is for you and loves you unconditionally.