His Lavish Love

1 John 3:1-2
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (NIV)
Don't you love that word "lavished"! He has lavished his love on us by making us his children. How is love lavished on a child? With lots of hugs and smiles and kisses, words and attention. They feel secure, special, bonded, close, satisfied.

Is this how we feel as Father's child? Or is he (to us) an emotionally absent Father? Many are emotionally detached from their Abba. And it is because of all the closed doors in their heart - not a lack of love on his part. It does not make sense that we should be created with mind, will, imagination and emotions and Father does not touch our emotions.

We have been led to believe that we must not trust emotions in our life of faith. There is some truth in this. Our emotions fluctuate, and are not a true measurement of our faith. But this does not mean that we must not feel his love, or his joy over us, or our own responses of love and joy and peace. His love is tangible; I have known it like refreshing water, like the effect of sitting in a hot pool on a cold day (ahhhhhhhh!) like a soft billowy feathered eiderdown, as a deep sense of inner restfulness, as a deep delight that bubbles up with giggles or yahoos!

And he says to us "You are my beloved child, in whom I delight." In John 17:26 Jesus is praying that "the love you (Father) have for me may be in them." This delighted, tender love is the same love Jesus experienced. You see Father's love does not have variances or degrees. It is not that one day he loves us a lot, and another, not much. His love is constant, unvarying. This is what is meant by 'eternal' - not fluctuating or varying or dying away.

1 Jn 4:18 "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out/casts out fear." Have you known this perfect (complete) love that drives out fear? I experienced that profoundly recently as a time of desolation was brought into the light and cleaned out and his perfect love drove out the fear of abandonment. I had been left at the hospital to have my tonsils out at about 3 years (as they did in those days) and it devastated me. But it was locked away. This 'orphan voice' was heard when I was alone, but I never knew it was such a deep pain until the Father brought it out recently and healed it.

Invite this perfect, unchanging, lavish love of Father to come and open the doors of your heart. He wants to be emotionally present for you, every day, every hour, so he is your delight, and you know you are his.