One of my favorite words that is used in conjunction with God is 'lavish'. There's something in that word that just speaks to my soul about the quality of God's affection for me. It's so easy for me to believe the lie that God tolerates me, that He loves me because He has to, but that's not the case. God loves me with a lavish 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! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1, NIV) To be adopted by the King of kings is a privilege indeed, and He doesn't adopt us out of obligation, but out of His great love for us. He was absolutely thrilled when that adoption was finalized, and we know that the Bible says that there was a celebration in heaven on that day. (Luke 15:7)
Because of this love, He also lavishes grace upon us. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us." (Ephesians 1:7-8a, NIV) His measure of grace isn't skimpy or insufficient. It never runs out. He never gets tired of giving us grace or forgiveness. There will never be a time when we have used up our allotment of grace, or when we have done something so wrong that God throws His hands up and abandons us. He has an abundance of grace and from that abundance, He gives it to us lavishly. How amazing is that?
I spent so many years knowing that God loved me, but feeling like I had to prove myself worthy of His love and grace. I knew how unworthy I was and that I mess up all the time. In my head, I told myself that my best wasn't good enough (which is true) so I needed to try harder to prove I was worth it (which was not true). The very definition of grace claims that I can't earn it and the same is true with love. The fact that I'm not worthy of it makes it that much more precious.
God's resources of grace and love never run out. He is rich in both commodities. He is the author of both commodities. They are not dependent on me in anyway. I can't be good enough to earn them, and I can't be bad enough to lose them. There is a limitless supply, and God has no need to hoard it or save it, so He lavishly gives to all who believe. Hallelujah!
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/seashore-269583/
