Here is love, vast as the ocean

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” 2Corinthians 1:5

Recently I have been going through one of those seasons a Christian finds themselves in. A season in which the atmosphere gets colder, the night’s dim gloom grows, and the light is shy and fleeting. It’s a silly backwards way of picturing things now that spring is coming upon us, I know. But that is the way things are I’m afraid. In this season I met another one from the body. She was a fellow sister in Christ with similar afflictions. I admit, however, that her pain and her walk with Christ has been threefold as arduous and threefold as long. I’m glad to have met her and I pray she was glad to have met me. For as we both shared the same pain, we both knew deep down that the pain we had both experienced was not really ours. And our consolation by Christ had always matched or surpassed the trials.

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us…”

After conversion, my life is not mine anymore. It is free from the sting of sin, which is death, but I belong to a new master. The Father in heaven had bought me with the blood of Christ. And thus, I bring everything to the throne. I bring my life, my breath, my delights, and my devastation to Him on high. And if I live, I live not for my family or friends or even myself. Because all will fall short to the glory of God. No. I live for Christ. So, this shared pain me and my new friend have is not ours anymore but Christ’s. And every time I point my head heavenward in seasons such as this, I find that His yoke IS easy, and His burden IS light. I cannot say this happens instantly, but it happens eventually and in His own time. Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

“…so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”

“Here is love vast as the ocean” is something I wrote on the spine of my bible. Possibly my favourite hymn but it really does reflect the bible does it not? This God-breathed book contained this verse for me to meditate on and I did find my consolation by Christ. Because no matter how many tears I may weep, they are nothing compared to the ocean of love and consolation that arrives to the Christian when they see Jesus. We will not be overwhelmed. Praise God who lifts me up in spirit and in song.