rooted and grounded in love

I have a new understanding of what Ephesians is talking about. Last night we had a random visitor at church (we get a lot of random visitors at church) and this lady wanted to talk. Kevin sat down and talked to her, lovingly, kindly, and patiently for three hours, listening to her story - and in return was called a racist, a hypocrite, and told that just maybe a few of the things that he had to say were worth listening to. He didn't bat an eyelash, just shared how much God loved her and told her sincerely that he'd keep praying for her. This morning I was reading Ephesians 3 and verses 16-19 stuck out to me:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

When we're rooted in God's love, it doesn't matter what people say to us because we know that His love for us is greater than anyone's words or opinions. I can't imagine how may people would have gotten into a screaming match (or at least really offended) with this lady. When we know where our roots lie, we have that power that fills us with God's fullness and doesn't leave any room for our own power, pride, or ego. We don't have to fear the words or actions of man. It's this vision of God's greater purpose that is so lacking in so many believers... it grieves me. I pray that God opens the eyes of the people around us to see that ministry is possible in His power. If we're not rooted in love, we need to ask Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith, and that he'd replant us in His soil.