Measuring God's Love

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.



How do we measure God’s love?


Well, how do we measure other things?


We could try a measuring cup. What is the volume of God’s love? Believe it or not, there is a psalm which talks about that very thing. It’s a psalm that I’m sure you’ve all heard before and might even be able to recite.

Listen and see if you can catch where it talks about the volume of God’s love. You might recognize psalm 23.

Psalm 23 NRSVNRSV
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff-- they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

Did you catch it?

My cup overflows!

No matter how large a cup we use to try and measure God’s love, it will run over.


So let’s try something else. Maybe we can use a measuring tape? What do you think? Can we measure how long or how wide or how high God’s love is?

Oddly enough, there’s a psalm about this too. This one is psalm 108.

Psalm 108
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth. Give victory with your right hand, and answer me, so that those whom you love may be rescued. God has promised in his sanctuary: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem, and portion out the Vale of Succoth. Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I hurl my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies. O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless. With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.


Did you get it this time? “For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” We would need quite the tape measure to reach that high, and even then, we wouldn’t have one long enough to measure God’s love.


One more try. Maybe we can measure God’s love using time. We can measure time using a watch or a stopwatch. We can measure how long it takes to drive from here to Sydney. We can measure how long we sit at the table for supper. Someone might even be timing how long I stand up here preaching. So can we use a watch to measure God’s love?

Do you think we have a psalm for this? -- We do! It’s psalm 103. I’m not going to read the whole thing because it is fairly long; just the verse about measuring God’s love.

Psalm 103:17
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children.

You got that one? Good. It’s pretty hard to measure even one everlasting on a watch, let alone two.


So if we can’t measure God’s love in a measuring cup, or with a measuring tape, or even with a watch, how can we measure it?

John 3:16 NRSV
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

Is that a love you can measure?

I don’t think so. But we can experience it. We can feel that love every day. And when we feel God’s love for us, we can share it with others and it will never run out. We will be so full of love that it overflows from us. It reaches far beyond us. It has always been with us and will always be with us.


I’m going to leave you with one more verse about God’s love. This one is from Ephesians.


Ephesians 3:18-19 NRSV

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Amen.