Dwelling in Our Hearts

<p>Sometimes the words of children can jolt us into a deeper understanding of God&rsquo;s truth. When my daughter was young, I was telling her about one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith&mdash;that God through His Son and Spirit dwells in His children. As I tucked her into bed, I said that Jesus was with her and in her. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in my tummy?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;Well, you haven&rsquo;t swallowed Him,&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;But He&rsquo;s right there with you.&rdquo;</p> <p>My daughter&rsquo;s literal translation of Jesus being &ldquo;in her tummy&rdquo; made me stop and consider how when I asked Jesus to be my Savior, He came and took residence within me.</p> <p>The apostle Paul referred to this mystery when he prayed that the Holy Spirit would strengthen the believers in Ephesus so that Christ would &ldquo;dwell in [their] hearts through faith&rdquo; (Ephesians 3:17). With Jesus living within, they could grasp how deeply He loved them. Fueled by this love, they would mature in their faith and love others with humility and gentleness (4:2&ndash;3) while speaking the truth in love (4:25).</p> <p>Jesus dwelling inside His followers means that His love never leaves those who&rsquo;ve welcomed Him into their lives. His love that surpasses knowledge (3:19) roots us to Him, helping us to understand how deeply He loves us.</p> <p>Words written for children can say it best: &ldquo;Yes, Jesus loves me!&rdquo;</p>