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The Unsearchable Riches of Christ – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 8 and 9.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: To me, the very least of all saints,
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: was this grace given,
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: and to make all people see what is the administration of the mystery which
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: for ages has been hidden in God.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: We often expect the power of Christ to resemble our own power, only larger.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: We imagine that God works through greater effort,
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: stronger determination, better information, or more impressive ability.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Then, when our own strength reaches its limits,
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: we may quietly assume we have reached the limit of what spiritual life can offer.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says, what I already understand is the limit of what Christ can give.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Paul calls the riches of Christ unsearchable.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Unsearchable does not mean inaccessible.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Paul spent his life exploring, proclaiming, and inhabiting those riches.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: The word points to a depth that can never be completely traced.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: We can search,
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: discover, Receive and grow, yet we will never reach the boundary of Christ's grace.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: There will always be more of Christ than we presently understand.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Belonging may be deeper than you have known.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Transformation may be more possible than your history suggests.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Your capacity to love and be loved is not limited to what you have experienced so far.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: The life of Christ cannot be contained within inherited beliefs,
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: old disappointments, or the small ruler of human ability.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we say,
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: this is all there is,
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: when what we have actually reached is the edge of our own effort.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: We repeat familiar practices,
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: try harder to feel close to God, and measure the results by what we can explain.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: When little seems to change, pressure grows.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: We may assume the answer is to become more disciplined, more certain, or more intense.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yet pressure compels from the outside.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Grace draws from within.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Grace awakens wonder.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: It invites rather than condemns.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: It does not shame you for where you are now.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: It opens the possibility that your present understanding is real and valuable
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: while still being incomplete.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where you are today may be the place grace has brought you in order for you
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: to receive what comes next.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: A question you cannot resolve may deepen humility.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: A relationship may reveal a part of love you have never practiced.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: A limitation may loosen your dependence on control.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: A longing may become the doorway into greater union with Christ.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to reject your present place before God can lead you forward.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: The riches of Christ are not hidden beneath spiritual perfection.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: They are encountered as we remain open,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: receiving mercy,
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: telling the truth,
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: releasing a small measure, and allowing love to become larger than our fear.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Each discovery reveals another depth.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Each experience of forgiveness widens your capacity to receive more.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Each time you trust God with uncertainty the horizon expands.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Each time love reaches a guarded place you learn that Christ was already present
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: beyond the boundary you had drawn.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: You will never comprehend all the riches of Christ.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Christ Jesus Christ
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Your riches are deeper than anything I have known or imagined.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I confess the ways I have reduced your power to the limits of my experience and understanding.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Where I am now held is within your wisdom, and there is still more grace to receive.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Awaken wonder and holy curiosity within me.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Keep me open as you lead me deeper into your life and love.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: As the stillness settles deeper within you, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Your grace has no boundary.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Lead me deeper into Christ.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Your grace has no boundary.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Lead me deeper into Christ.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Your grace has no boundary.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Lead me deeper into Christ.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Your grace has no boundary.
• 5:54
  Lead me deeper into Christ.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.