Enormous Love
Love cannot be measured
by Janice Ross (revised, originally published in 2006)
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To explore the idea that God’s love cannot be measured.
Preparation and materials
- Have available the following words displayed on a screen or on paper: ‘big’, ‘huge’, ‘enormous’, ‘gigantic’ and ‘colossal’.
- You will also need a range of measuring equipment, such as a ruler and some measuring tape, string, weighing scales and so on.
- Optional: you may wish to use the Bible passage Psalm 103.11-12.
Assembly
- Show the measuring equipment to the children.
Ask for a few volunteers to do some measuring, or have a class primed for this task.
Ask the children to measure the length of a piece of paper, the height of a child, around a wastebasket and so on. - Hand a ruler to one of the children and say that you want him/her to measure the playground. Are there any problems with this task?
Listen to a range of responses.
Discuss the idea that we need different measuring tools for different tasks. - Ask the children to list as many words as they can to do with measuring.
Listen to a range of responses.
Display the collection of ‘big’ words.
Ask the children to try to fit these words into a sentence, such as, ‘The planet Jupiter is enormous’ or ‘When I grow up to be a footballer, I’ll score a huge number of goals’. - Explain that Christians and people of other faiths believe that there is one thing that you can’t measure: love. You can’t put a price on the love of other people. You can’t measure it with a ruler or a set of weighing scales or any other measuring device – even a tape measure as big as the solar system!
- Christians believe that God’s love for each of us is limitless. (Optional: you may wish to ask a reader to read the Bible passage Psalm 103.11-12.)
Time for reflection
Think of:
- the longest journey you’ve ever made . . .
Pause to allow time for thought.
- the longest time you’ve stayed up . . .
Pause to allow time for thought.
- the biggest meal you’ve ever eaten . . .
Pause to allow time for thought.
- the most money you’ve ever had . . .
Pause to allow time for thought.
- the biggest crowd you’ve ever seen . . .
Pause to allow time for thought.
- the largest thing you know about . . .
Pause to allow time for thought.
Love is bigger than them all.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Prayer
Thank you, God, for all those who love and care for us.
Thank you that your love reaches to the highest heaven, and to the deepest ocean.
Thank you that there is nowhere I can hide or run to, but your love is already there.
Please help us to be people who give love, as well as receiving it.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Love will never come to an end’ (Come and Praise, 99)
