LAVISH LOVE

1John 3:1-3

My heart and spirit where on such a spiritual sprint on Sunday during the sermon, I almost had to get up and sprint around the back of the church!  Of course, being me, instead of that open display, which may very well have gotten me escorted out of the building and my husband kicked out of church leadership, I just sat and wept tears of gratitude realizing the provision of God’s lavish love.

1 John 3:1 describes how God gave His love….in my bible version, NIV, he LAVISHED His love on us. When I think of lavish, I think of the flowers I saw all over the island of Kauai. I remember the view from the deck of my brother’s ranch house in the Colorado Rockies.  I remember seeing one of my babies on an ultrasound just two days after I found out I was pregnant with their heart just ticking away! Love lavished on me to even have senses to appreciate all this!

God has provided for my salvation from time immemorial.  One of the ministries of the Savior is outlined in Isaiah 61:1-3.

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, 
   because the LORD has anointed me 
   to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 
   to proclaim freedom for the captives 
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a] 
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor 
   and the day of vengeance of our God, 
to comfort all who mourn, 
 ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion— 
to bestow on them a crown of beauty 
   instead of ashes, 
the oil of joy 
   instead of mourning, 
and a garment of praise 
   instead of a spirit of despair.

Christ was sent, in the past tense, for the ministry of binding up the brokenhearted…from the Sovereign Lord, the Father.  In Beth Moore’s bible study, Breaking Free, she taught that the Hebrew word for “sent” meant to “be shot forth”.  In Psalm 127:3-4, God calls sons, arrows in the hands of a warrior.  John 3:16,17 “For God so loved the world that he sent (shot forth) His only Son (that arrow), that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send (shoot forth) His Son (arrow) into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (Parentheticals are mine.) I need to quote to you what and how Beth illustrated this unfathomable love and ministry of the Savior to us:

“John 3:17 tells us God gave His Son for the salvation of the people by sending Him into the world. You see, God only had one arrow in His quiver.  The most perfect arrow ever to exist. This arrow was a masterpiece, priceless to Him.  Cherished far above all the hosts of heaven.  Nothing could compare.  His only heritage.  His only Son.  But as God looked on a lost world--desperate, needy, and in the clutches of the enemy-- His heart was overwhelmed.  Though we sinned miserable against Him, few sought 

Him. God could not love us less.

“Love reached sacrificially into the quiver and pulled out the solitary arrow.  The quiver would now be empty, His cherished arrow in the hands of hateful men.  Yes, God so loved the world, but God also loved His only begotten Son with inexpressible, divine affection.  The divine dilemma: two loves. And one would demand the sacrifice of the other.  Only one weapon could defeat the enemy of the world- God’s arrow.  He positioned the weapon, pulled back the bow, steadied His grip, aimed straight for the heart. “And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.  Luke 2:7.”

By that lavish love, God calls me His child!  He made provisions for me!  Sacrificial provision for my salvation, adoption, and inheritance as one of His children!  I’m doing a dance!

Be back tomorrow exploring how God’s love affects my future. Then in one last post I hope to talk about connecting God’s love to my present.

But here’s a question: Ever had the lavish love of the Lord bind up your broken heart? Has He ever revealed Himself such that your heart couldn’t resist His lavish love and you just had to relinquish the open wound in your heart for healing? If you are comfortable, share, would you?  It would be a great encouragement to all of us.