Lavishly Loved

November 2, 2023

From Jackie Payne

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible simply because of the word lavish. That’s not a word that most people use in their daily vernacular because it’s such an extra word.

Lavish means (according to the Cambridge Dictionary) to give someone a lot, or too much, of something such as money, presents, or attention.

I think that definition fits the verse. God has given us too much love…that’s just how He is. He can’t do anything less, and we can’t do anything more or less to change that level of love.

You know how much you can love the people around you (children, parents, spouses, friends). They can exhaust you or frustrate and anger you or make you cry…but you can still love them with a stupid crazy amount of love that sometimes defies understanding. Imagine how much more God loves you. Our capacity to love is stymied by the sinful world we live in and the reality of being created human beings. Imagine how much more God can love when He is the Creator, and He has no sin or humanity in Him to block how deep His love can go.

AND…we get to be the recipients of that love. Maybe you’ve experience life without a lot of love, so thinking of God’s love doesn’t really land. You’ve not seen it in the people around you so why would He love you? Maybe you’ve been on the opposite end of the spectrum and have been surrounded by love and support your entire life so thinking of someone loving you even more seems impossible. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, know that you can’t fully understand God’s love. All you can do is try and bask in it and accept it. Pray for the Holy Spirit to let it land in your heart and take up residence, letting you know deep in your soul who you are – lavishly loved.