Eph. 1:15

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints

For this reason. The reason? Because the love of god constrained him to do what he did to make it possible for anyone to have peace with God – through the Blood of Christ – and because this is the gracious plan of God, to include all in redemption. Because of all this Paul can include both Jews and Gentiles alike as his brothers and sisters in the family of God.

The proof of this is:

(Their) faith in the Lord Jesus. They all, Jews and Gentiles, trusted Jesus completely. If people put their faith in Jesus, it makes no difference at all where they come from or their DNA. What makes us one with one another is not our common chromosomes but our common faith in Jesus Christ.

(Their) love for all the saints, both Jewish and Gentiles – no difference at all. It is not that in Christ they could tolerate one another but that they actually could and did love one another, with the love of God. Love is the deepest, most consequential of all emotions. It is so with God. His love is what gives us life and light.

Am I experiencing that deep, deep love of God in my own life? I need to ponder that. Or do I have a problem in my attitudes toward others, even though they are washed by the same atoning blood that cleanses me?

The love of God is stronger than any human bond. It is the bond that unites me with all those on the face of the earth who love Jesus. That includes my closest brothers and sisters in faith who give me grief now and again. I know that the love of God is at work in my heart when I love those who naturally rub me the wrong way for some reason. I must learn to look, not on behavior and character traits but on the hearts. That love passes right through the veils that separate us and binds our hearts at the deepest level possible.

God looks on the heart. I must strive to do the same.

Paul extols God's redeeming love. God's love is at work in us who believe. That is the reason Paul can thank God for the exciting privilege of being in fellowship with all fellow believers in the household of faith, in the very body of Christ.

A further thought: If I forget the real reason for fellowship - the common cleansing in the blood of Jesus Christ - then I seek other ways for unity. That is not the hightest.