Love Lavished

I was reading in 1 John the other day and was apprehended by a verse that I have continued to think about  over and over again. And every time I do, I find this beautiful refocusing... a re-centering of God in my life. I see the beauty in His extravagant love that was poured out for us and on us... and it just leads me to worship Him. I've done nothing to deserve His love. It isn't just His love that has me drawn in to this verse. It was the purpose of it.

When I think about love, I immediately conjure images of holding hands, long walks on the beach with that special someone, the embrace of a mother for her child, etc. But love is not found in these. Love causes these. You can embrace without love. You can hold hands without love. You can give without love. You cannot however love without giving. Love causes action. But not just any action. Love causes action with a purpose.

When love grips you for a thing, pet, person, people group, or whatever - the first thing that you decide is a purpose for them. If it is a forest you love that is being torn down, your purpose may be to preserve it. Therefore, your purpose now drives your actions that will achieve it, all flowing from your love for it.

If it is a people group that are starving, you may be moved by love for them to decide that they need help in this area. That becomes your purpose, driven by your love, for which you will sacrifice much of your personal time, money, and energy to see hunger eliminated in their lives.

Love causes action with a purpose. In the verse that has so apprehended my thoughts, we see the purpose of God for us all. Before that purpose though, we see the actions of God being described. It is 1 John 3:1 and it says, "How GREAT is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!".

Before you click on another page, thinking, "that was it?!". Hold on. Keep reading. You can't just read the Bible, you have to read the Bible. Meaning, you have to identify what is the subject of the verses at times. It says how great is the love that the Father has lavished on us... how does one lavish love? If love is a feeling you have for someone, does that mean when I lavish it that I bat my eyes a little more or that I spend more time day dreaming about them? No cousin Larry, don't be ridiculous! (Bonus points for a Perfect Strangers TV Show reference). The love referred to here is the type of love that is found in action. There has been a great amount of action - planning, designing events, and executing that plan - that has gone into place to lavish His love on us.

I don't know if anyone has ever thrown you a surprise party before. But there is an intense amount of work and orchestrating of events that goes on to pull one off. You have to make sure the birthday boy/girl is nowhere near the location of the event on that day, which may mean planning a distraction for them. You have to plan or delegate decorating, food, and birthday cake committees. All of this will take time, money, and energy to pull off. Then you have to invite guests and get them to show up on time. But the result of throwing a surprise party is a tremendous feeling that overwhelms the birthday boy/girl when they arrive at a party all for them.

I have seen many people cry when the blind fold is taken off and the secret work and planning has been revealed. It is really beautiful to watch it all unfold as the love that has been lavished on them by their loved ones settles in.

Imagine that feeling and once you do, you can begin to understand why this verse in 1 John has caused tears in my eyes multiple times over the past few days. All of God's planning, orchestrating, and execution of the plan culminate and reveal His beautiful purpose for me - all of us. He did it all so that we could be called His children!

This verse celebrates and reminds us how great is God's love for us. And when I start to think on that, it's almost like being at a surprise party with God saying, "Surprise Aaron! I love you! And I did all of this so that you could be My child."

How can you not be humbled, drawn to your knees in worship, overwhelmed by the love that has been lavished on you, leading you to a place where you find yourself feeling small like a child in the arms of a loving Father?