Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian explorer who led an expedition to the Arctic Ocean in a search for the North Pole. He took his ship into very deep water. As part of his studies, he would drop a sounding line to check the ocean's depth. When the line was too short to reach the bottom of the ocean, he would record the date, time, location, length of line, and a final note that read, "Deeper than that." He would then lower a longer line with the same result and notation, "Deeper than that." Then he would make another attempt with the same result and notation: "Deeper than that." Finally, after lowering his longest line, the logbook received the final notation of so and so length of line and "deeper than that."

I want to suggest to you that that's the way God's love is. No matter how we may try to measure it, his love is "deeper than that." John tells us that "God is love."> (1 John 4:8) However, I feel rather overwhelmed and challenged by the task of trying to explain this incredible doctrine.

A.W. Tozer struggled to explain the depth of God's love as well. He once said, "I can no more do justice to this awesome and wonder-filled topic than a child can grasp a star. Still, by reaching toward the star the child may call attention to it and even indicate the direction one must look to see it. And so, I stretch my heart toward the high, shining love of God so that we may be encouraged to look up and have hope."

The apostle Paul wrote the following prayer for the early Christians of Asia Minor:

That's the way God's love is.
"[I pray] that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."(Ephesians 3:17-19)

Paul prayed that these Ephesian Christians might be able to comprehend the love of Christ, but he said that it is a love that truly surpasses knowledge. As difficult as it may be, I encourage you to seek to grasp a better understanding of the love of God; for it is there that you will find the motivation to love Him in return and to love others around you. Yet at your greatest depth of understanding, you must know that God's love is "deeper than that."