A recent headline on my social media timeline claimed that scientists found something almost incomprehensible—an ocean 400 miles below the crust of the earth and three times the volume of all the water on our planet’s surface combined. A monumental discovery if true. Granted, the water is stored within a certain type of rock— ringwoodite—but it’s the type of discovery that ought to stop you in your tracks. Deep beneath our feet, more water than we could ever see sits trapped in rock.
This very headline was the subject of conversation on a drive to church recently. We all tried to imagine the depth of 400 miles and the magnitude of water that is three times the volume of what is on the earth’s surface. My brain started to hurt.
The Love of God
I have certainly tried to understand the love of Christ. In Ephesians 3:18, Paul exhorts the saints in Ephesus to be rooted in the love of Christ and to know how wide, deep, tall, and long the love of Christ is. 1 John 4:7-8 tells us that God is love. Repeatedly in Scripture we’re told that it’s God’s love that sent Christ to us (John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-21). The love of Christ is an ocean of love that I have tried to meditate on and fit the massive size of all creation into my tiny human brain, but this recent scientific discovery has the love of Christ echoing even deeper within the caverns of my heart.
More Than We Can Measure
Just when we think we’ve plumbed the depths of Christ’s love, we discover something rippling in the dark—a reservoir of love:
- Three times the ocean depths
- Three times the rain that swallows the ground whole
- Three times the rivers that rage and the streams that sing and the brooks that bubble with new life
More than I could see, more than I could measure, more than I can explore. And even more than that. It’s a reservoir waiting for when more is needed.
I am constantly amazed at how God has written His nature in creation. Romans 1:20 reminds me that “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” That God is vaster and more loving than we could ever imagine. This scientific article feels like an echo of laughter from the beginning of creation—God knowing we have no idea of His provision, His reservoirs, His forethought.
God’s Love is for You
And this love? It holds me. It swallowed me whole when I was desperate for a drop of water. When I was at my lowest, I found Christ was already there, like ripples in the dark, patiently waiting for me to finally run out of steam and surrender. It was like falling into the ocean—enough grace to carry me and enough humility to drown me. It was enough to make me feel small. And since that day, I’ve never wondered if Christ was at the bottom of all my brokenness. I’ve never wondered if His love didn’t go deeper still. I may struggle with and doubt many other things, but the depths of the love of Christ? I have not found the bottom of it yet. So imagine: even then, when I was gutted, broke, embarrassed, and humiliated, there was yet a reservoir that I hadn’t even tapped.
Oh, to know the breadth, length, height, and depths of Christ’s love! Reservoirs and gullies—multiplied, hidden, abundant, and ready to carry this sinner home.
Andrea G. Burke
Andrea G. Burke is an author and is on staff at Grace Road Church in Rochester, NY. She is married to Jedediah, and they are raising their two kids, two dogs, two cats, a few strays, three ducks, and a lot of chickens in an old farmhouse outside of the city.
