1 John 3:1a
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
The song “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury has taken the world by storm! Have you heard it yet? Have you sung it in church? When this song was first released, I really had to wrestle with the bridge. It goes like this:
“There's no shadow You won't light up
Mountain You won't climb up
Coming after me
There's no wall You won't kick down
Lie You won't tear down
Coming after me”
For a while I didn’t lead it because I wasn’t sure that I could sing it honestly. Did I really believe that God would take whatever means necessary to save me? Well, the truth is, He already did.
Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
God sent His Son Jesus to take on human form and live among us, being fully God and fully man. He faced the scariest thing we could ever face as humans: death (or two things if you count public speaking!). He did what was necessary to show his love for us.
In thinking about God’s love, another verse I kept coming back to was 1 John 3:1a: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (emphasis added). I decided to look up the word “lavish” in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and here is what I found:
My search for definitions also led me to the word "extravagant":
Take a look at that last definition of the word “extravagant” again: “Extremely or unreasonably high in price.”
God paid the highest price possible to show His love for us. This is how He loves us! He isn’t a distant father who is harsh and difficult please. He is a Father who has already done what was necessary so that he could show His love for us and have a relationship with us!
This Easter I pray that God will help us have a deeper understanding of the love that drove Him to the cross on our behalf.
Happy Easter!
COMMENT BELOW: What is your favourite song about God's love?