Lavishing Love

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1, NIV)

How true it is that there are no perfect earthly parents. I am sure that most of you are like me and have gone to bed feeling like the worst parent in the world, the worst failure of being a mother. We do our best to provide shelter, clothing, food, and care to our children. We also do our best to provide love to them as best we can even though we don't always feel like we conveyed how we felt to the best of our ability.

But as christians, we are the children of God, with a Heavenly Father who is flawless. We never have to worry about Him failing to show His love to us. Since He is an all-sufficient, all-powerful, all-knowing, faithful Father, He lavishes His love on us like no one else can.

I remember one way I used to try to show love to my kids was by making them a very special birthday cake for their birthday. One birthday we made Claresa a cake with a Barbie coming out of the top, the cake was her skirt. We also made small cupcakes just like it with dolls coming out of them for all the little girls at the party. She loved it. One year when Aaron was three my sister, Sandra,and I made him a Big Bird cake. We were so proud and when Aaron went to blow out the candles he looked at it and said, Momma, it looks like a chicken. He still liked it, but it didn't go over like I thought. Sometimes our lavishing may not be just right, but we try.

You might ask how does God lavish love on us? There are so many ways, but I am sorry to say that we miss so many of them because we are not looking for them. Think about the sunrises and sunsets you have seen. Think of the things in nature that God has created. Have you ever really stopped to look at the details of a flower? Think of how often He kisses you with the wind as it brushes across your face. Think of the laugh of a child. Think of being able to crawl out of bed each day, although that is getting harder with age. Think of how awesome it is that we can see and hear, walk and talk. The list goes on and on.

The good news is if we stop each day and really take the time to see all the ways God is lavishing His love on us, it would totally amaze us. Instead we get discouraged because we have gotten so busy and caught up in other things that we have failed to receive God's love. Have you ever tried to love someone and show your love to them and yet they don't recognize or appreciate it? I think God feels that way sometimes when we don't slow down long enough to receive the love He is lavishing on us.

So my challenge for you today is to STOP and allow God to lavish you with His love. Take the time to THANK Him for that love. Then LAVISH Him with your love.