February – the love month. There will not be a shortage of posts and commercials and tweets about “love”.
The other day, I was reminded of this quote by Bob Goff – –
“Love doesn’t try to be efficient; when it is most extravagant, it is least wasted.”
Perhaps in order for love to truly be felt. It needs to be extravagant.”Extravagant” as defined by dictionary.com >> “exceeding the bounds of reason; going beyond what is deserved.”
There are things we all feel we deserve whether because we have earned it, are good people, or are entitled to it …
- children love us because we provide for them and we love them
- our friends may love us because they can depend on us
- family may love us due to a shared history and memories
- our pets love us because we take care of them
But what about a love beyond reasoning, beyond what we deserve? A love which is unconditional, undeserved, we haven’t earned and quite frankly, we couldn’t earn it?
“Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on usāāHe calls us children of God! Itās true; we are His beloved children.”ĆĀ (1 John 3:1, The Voice)ĆĀ
The Father loves us with a love which is measureless. If we were to sit and think about it for any length of time, we would be astonished, amazed, and filled with a wonder that He loves us at all. And here is why:
“This love, originating with God, ever seeks the true welfare of those being loved: it is amazing indeed when we remember the personal destitution of those He loves. God’s love is a love that works visible, transforming results in the lives of its recipients. ”
“God loves the sinner, not because He is drawn to him by his lovableness, but because, in spite of man’s unloveliness, God sets His mind and will on seeking man’s highest good. That is what is amazing about God’s love.”
(from The New American Commentary on 1, 2, 3 John, Vol. 38, page 133)
The world needs to see this love at work in us towards one another. In that same chapter of 1 John 3, we are called to:
- “We should love one another.” (verse 11)
- “Let’s not merely say that we love one another; let us show the truth by our actions.” (verse 18)
- “Love one another, just as he {Jesus} commanded us.” (verse 23)
May we care too much.
And love extravagantly.
Today I am joining … Tell His Story and Three Word Wednesday and Wedded Wednesday and Works for Me and Coffee & Conversation and Women With Intention .
I so badly want to love more. Thank you for encouraging my heart in this today. I love the idea of “lavish love.” Lord, help me to be more selfless.
I do too, Kelly. To love more will mean to sacrifice more. May He make us willing.
Extravagant love – such an incredible gift God gives us, yet such a challenge for us to give others. Love the translation you chose for 1 John 3:18 – let’s not just say we love, but go show it.
Kathryn, love is so easy to talk about. And there will surely be much talk about it come Valentine’s Day š But the showing of it truly does cost us more than money spent on a gift or chocolate or flowers. May we be willing to love as we have been loved.
Great reminder of God’s measureless love!
my goodness, I think that love is so strong of an emotion, so great an action, that we have only begun to understand and live it! Great post, and I’m also a fan of Winnie the Pooh. Visiting from Messy Marriage
Mary, you are so right — we have only just begun to understand & live it. May we grow in our understanding & thus in our love. Grateful you stopped to share.
Hey Joanne ~ Saw you waiting at the link-up and thought I’d jump over and re-connect! Thanks for sharing this gift of extravagant love. Sacrificial, strong, caution to the winds kind of lavish grace. I’m beyond grateful that God has shown us how to live this out, through His Son and by His strength.
Good to see you again …
Grateful you stopped, Linda. It is only as He shows us how to live it out that we can even begin to love in this manner. Hope to see you again š
I loved this post, Joanne! And that quote from Bob Goff is amazing! It truly boggles my mind how much God loves us . . . even in our sin. When I stop to really think deeply about that, it changes me from the inside out. I also love that quote from Winnie the Pooh! So sweet and so true. Thanks for sharing your godly insight with us today, sweet friend!
Yes, that Bob Goff surely has a way with words which makes a point stick. Thank you for stopping here & sharing with me as well, Beth!
Extravagant love. Yes, this is what the Father has given us. I like this post very much!
Sharing it.
visiting from Coffee & Conversation
Grateful you stopped & encouraged me. May you have a great day!
I’ve always thought the word extravagant sounded fancy and special. But, really, come to think of it, that’s how God loves us – in a way like no other. I really like this post and am encouraged by it. Thanks for your faithfulness at #ThreeWordWednesday.
Kristin, I thought the same of the word “extravagant”. When I stopped to write this post, I realized how it truly applies to God’s love. His love is special, like no other in our lives. We’re only scratching the surface of His deep love for us. Amazing!
Our loving God does lavish us daily and to think He continues to do this even when we mess up over and over. I agree that love needs to be extravagant because God first showed us this love and we will honor Him when we do the same for others. Blessings!
Mary, I’m always blessed by your thoughts! This morning I read this on twitter… “Share God’s love with everyone. You never know when it is the only good thing in that persons life.” May we come to love extravagantly!
It is truly amazing the love our Father has for us. It’s almost unfathomable as humans have our sinful ways of throwing anger, jealousy and the other yucky sins we have into the mix with those that we “love”. As always, I enjoyed your post…that Winnie is far too wise š Thanks for linking up at Women With Intention Wednesdays…I was a little late getting my post up this week, hope you can join in!
May we learn to love as He loves as we receive His love into our lives. Wednesday slipped away from me & I was not able to post or linkup at all. I always enjoy joining in & will be back š