Have you ever received an extravagant gift?  Something that you knew was extremely costly for the person who gave it to you.  Not necessarily even in money terms but in time or sacrifice.  I remember once when a friend gave me his favorite baseball card for my birthday.  I’m not sure what the card was worth in money but, to my friend, it was his prized possession.  I told him that I couldn’t take the card and he said that he wanted me to have it because I was special to him just like the card was.  For an eight year old boy that was about as extravagant as it gets.  God’s love for us is an extravagant love the Bible even describes it as lavish.  Let’s look together today at I John 3.

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 reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

For God, the extravagant love He shows for us comes across in many ways but none as great as literally giving His life for us.  The thing about extravagant gifts is that they can be overwhelming.  I remember thinking how in the world can I repay my friend for the gift of his baseball card.  I started hanging out with him more and we would often argue about what sports we would play.  I found myself agreeing with him more instead of arguing.  The same thing happens with God.  When we understand His extravagant love for us it changes us.  We want to spend more and more time with Him and we want to live lives that please Him.  We want to share His love with others.  May we all be overwhelmed today and each day with a fresh sense of the lavish love of God for us and may we share that love with the world.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave