LOVE'S LONG REACH

Love’s Long Reach

Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

Romans 11:33

READ PSALM 139:1–10

Mary Lee is a sixteen-foot, 3,500-pound great white shark tagged by oceanographers off the east coast of the US in 2012. The transmitter attached to her dorsal fin would be tracked by satellite when she surfaced. For the next five years Mary Lee’s movements were observed online by everyone from researchers to surfers, up and down the coast. She was tracked for nearly 40,000 miles until one day her signal stopped—probably because the battery on her transmitter expired.

Human knowledge and technology reach only so far. Those “following” Mary Lee lost track of her, but you and I can never evade God’s awareness throughout every moment of our lives. David prayed, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,” he exclaims gratefully (v. 6).

God chooses to know us because He loves us. He cares enough not only to observe our lives but also to enter into them and make them new. He drew near through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, so we could know Him in return and love Him for eternity. We can never go beyond the reach of God’s love.

By James Banks

REFLECT & PRAY

Thank You for always seeing me, Father! Help me to live today with a growing awareness of Your presence and perfect love.

How does the thought that God knows and loves us completely encourage you? How will you reach out to others with His love today?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

A simple definition of the word theology is “the study of God.” In Psalm 139, David didn’t set out to write a mini-course on theology, but his prayer-filled composition is just that. Verses 1-18 include three unique characteristics of the God of the Bible: He is omniscient (all-knowing, vv. 1-6), omnipresent (always present, vv. 7-12), and omnipotent (all-powerful, vv. 13-18). It’s staggering when we think of God in the way Psalm 139 depicts Him. The psalmist’s writing is very personal (notice the number of first-person pronouns). David doesn’t leave us with abstract thoughts about a distant God, but his reflections lead to personal application: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv. 23-24).

To learn more about basic Christian beliefs visit christianuniversity.org/ST101. Arthur Jackson