Unrivaled.

Unmatched. Unequaled. Boundless. Deep.

We run out of words to describe the love of God. His love is the superlative to end all superlatives, and the more we encounter it, the more we grasp for a picture that can begin to do it justice.

​Several thousand years ago, the psalmist wrote, "...your love is better than life." Over the intervening centuries, hundreds of songwriters have grappled with the limits of their languages to capture the immeasurable, inexplicable love of God.

​18th century hymn writer Charles Wesley wrote, "Amazing love! how can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me?"

​In the 19th century, Charles Hutchinson Gabriel wrote, "How marvelous! How wonderful, and my song will ever be, how marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me!"

The crescendo continues in the 20th century. Kathy Troccoli famously released a song called, "Stubborn Love." David Meece tried to capture the great lengths of God's love with "We Are the Reason." Chris Bowater, one of the fathers of modern worship in the United Kingdom, wrote, "Oh, the deep, deep, love of Jesus! Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free. Rolling like a mighty ocean in its fullness over me."

Of late, songwriters are more overwhelmed than ever. "Heaven meets earth like a sloppy, wet kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest," cries John Mark McMillan.  Chris Tomlin, trying to capture the boundless power and volume of God's love, writes, "Your love is like a waterfall, running wild and free!" Cory Asbury is beside himself experiencing God's love: "Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God! How it chases me down, fights til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine!"

​What is it about this love that captivates us so?

​I could go on forever, but here are three things, for me.

• Great lengths. Wesley said it best: how could it be that God Himself would die for me? Amazing.
• Celebrated, not tolerated. In His parable of the prodigal son, Jesus compares God to that father that not only welcomed his wayward son home, but threw a lavish party just to celebrate his son. Think about it: that's how He feels about you. Amazing. Reckless.
• Chosen in advance. We see in Ephesians 1:4 (and in quite a few other places) that God both chose us and decided to love us before we were ever born. No probationary period here! "I couldn't earn it; I don't deserve it," Asbury writes. Indeed. Overwhelming!

Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers that they "may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge..." I pray that you experience His love in deeper ways than ever before. Go ahead: surrender to His indescribable, reckless love. Let it wash over you and embrace you. It's okay to be beside yourself. He has that affect on us.

​What is it about God's love that captivates you?