Lavished Love
READ
In today’s passage, John, now an elderly man in his eighties, sits down to write to churches he loves deeply. These believers are facing confusion from teachers spreading lies about who they really are. So John starts with something that makes him want to shout from the rooftops.
"Look!" he writes - and you can almost hear the urgency in his voice. It's like he's grabbing you by the arm and saying, "You have got to see this!" What's got him so excited? God's love for you.
Let’s take a moment to read 1 John 3:1:
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.
REFLECT
This isn't just any love. The word John uses here - agape - describes the kind of love that gives everything without expecting anything back. It's the love that acts for your good whether you deserve it or not, whether you respond well or mess up completely. And John says God hasn't just given you this love - He's lavished it on you.
When someone lavishes something on you, they don't measure it out carefully or worry about giving too much. They pour it out generously, extravagantly, without holding back. That's exactly how God loves you. And here's what this extravagant love accomplishes: it makes you His child. Not just in name, but in reality. John gets so excited about this that he has to add an exclamation: "And that is what we are!" Right now, today, regardless of how you're feeling or what mistakes you made yesterday - you are God's child.
John chose his words carefully here. He could have used a term that emphasized legal rights or inheritance, but instead he picked the word that speaks to intimate family relationship. You're not just legally connected to God - you actually belong to His family. You share His nature. You have His heart beating in you.
This was revolutionary stuff for John's original readers. In their world, adoption was a big deal - adopted children got full family privileges and were often more secure than biological children because they were specifically chosen. But even they had never heard of love this radical.
Here's what makes it so incredible: God didn't choose you because you were the perfect candidate. You weren't the well-behaved kid with glowing references. You were actually running in the opposite direction from Him, making choices that broke His heart. And He looked at you in all your mess and said, "I want that one to be My child."
Not because of your potential. Not because of what you could do for Him. Simply because He chose to love you. The God who spoke the universe into existence, who holds the stars in place, who knows every grain of sand on every beach - He calls you His child. When you're struggling with your worth, when you feel like you don't measure up, when you're tempted to earn His love through perfect behavior - remember this: He already lavished His love on you before you did anything to deserve it.
This changes everything about how you see yourself. But it also transforms how you see other people. That person at church who gets on your nerves? Your sibling. The believer whose politics make you cringe? Family. The Christian whose lifestyle choices worry you? Your brother or sister. We're not just a group of people who happen to believe similar things. We're family - with all the messiness, loyalty, frustration, and unconditional love that family brings.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
How would your daily choices change if you truly lived from the identity of being God's beloved child rather than trying to earn love or approval?
In what ways do you struggle to accept God's lavish love, and what lies about yourself do you need to replace with the truth of your adoption?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Heavenly Father, I'm overwhelmed by the lavish love You've poured out on me by calling me Your child. Help me to live from this secure identity rather than striving to earn what You've already freely given. Teach me to love my spiritual family the way You love us, and let Your perfect love cast out all my fears and insecurities.