A Love That Surpasses Knowledge

Yesterday I went to a last minute baby shower. The mother, Megan, got pregnant out of wedlock. Both she and the baby's father, John, are teens. They got married a few months ago and today they have a two-week old. I'll admit that their situation is not ideal. John's mother attended the shower, but it was obvious that she was not there to support her son and his new wife. It seemed that we were honored with her presence for two reasons. The first, so that she could see her grandson, since it seems she isn't invited to do so on a regular basis. The second, to get credit with the church for attending. At the beginning of the shower when someone volunteered to hold the newborn as Megan prepared her own plate, the grandmother quickly announced that she would take the baby, "I'm the grandmother after all." I could tell that this made Megan particularly uncomfortable, but she allowed her mother-in-law to snatch the little boy from her arms. They didn't speak to each other at all, and even though it's customary for families to be seated close to one another, the grandmother sat on the other side of the room, making critical remarks on how this child (her daughter-in-law) hadn't even attended enough baby showers to know that she should pass her opened gifts around for the guests to ooh and aww over.

I can't help but wonder how this shower could have gone if Megan and John had been married at the time of conception, or if the grandmother was capable of forgiving this ten month grudge. What if they had worked things out before the baby arrived? Their relationship would be so much better. Now the family is separated by hurt. Megan is seen as a worthless by John's mother, and she is seen as judgmental and cruel by Megan. After seeing this interaction, I realized that even something as innocent and sweet and refreshing as a baby could not save their tattered relationship. What if, even in a situation this close to home, they could love like Christ? His love is redeeming, not condemning.

Ephesians 2:17-19
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.

It even surpasses the knowledge of our sins.