Oct 5, 20232 min read

October 5, 2023

LAVISHLY LOVED

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3 NLT

TODAY’S THOUGHT

In the NIV translation of verse 1 we read, ‘See what great love the Father has lavished on us….” That word “lavished” always makes me pause and think. That is not a word I use regularly. I hear about people with “lavish” lifestyles or with a house that is “lavish.” I don’t recall hearing someone say that person’s love is lavish. Yet our Heavenly Father chooses to lavishly love us. He has chosen to call us “His children.” The idea that I am a child of God transforms the way I view myself and therefore the choices I make in life. I grew up in a pastor’s home. I knew that being a pastor’s kid there were certain expectations of my behavior. I was proud to be a pastor’s kid. I had great respect for my parents because they were the same at home as they were at church. They demonstrated love everywhere they went—even at home. I wanted to make them proud because I felt loved by them. I did not want to do anything to displease them. While there were times, I didn’t totally agree with my parents my love and respect for them motivated me to choose the right actions. When we know that we are loved by our Heavenly Father it should transform the choices we make in life. Because I am loved by God I don’t want to participate in certain behaviors. It is when I fully understand God’s lavish love for me that I am motivated to transform my behavior. The more we understand God’s love the easier it is to live in purity.