Waterfall of Love

1 John 1:1-3

Verse 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.

    We learned yesterday about the depth of Christ’s love for us, but He didn’t just die for the sins of the world, He called us to be His children.  We may often refer to ourselves as being the child of Abraham, but do we take the time to actually focus on what that means?

    God doesn’t just sprinkle some love in our direction.  He has lavished His love on us and that knowledge should make us stop and take notice.  It is like wanting one thing and then actually receiving the biggest and best version of the item.  Like wanting a toy car and being given the deluxe full-size model of the actual car that holds every bell and whistle known to man.  That is the kind of love God gives us.

    The truth is that we know we don’t deserve the royal treatment.  We have sinned and maybe even denied Him to our friends.  Ok, maybe we didn’t say the words to deny Christ like Peter did, but by not speaking up for Him, we are denying Him.  If the tables were turned and someone consistently denied us in word or deed, we would walk away without any further thought.  But not Jesus, He marches in and pours heaping amounts of love on us.

    It is like the difference of standing under the showerhead or standing under Niagara Falls.  One is so much more powerful and overwhelming.  This is the image of God’s love that we should have.  He isn’t limiting the resource of His love, He is giving it to us in exceeding abundance.  A constant flow of the deepest love.

    He has called us His beloved children because that is what He wanted to do.  He chose to love us.  And it is important that we understand that we are His children.  Maybe we should be asking ourselves why we aren’t like the child who feels so loved by their father that they do everything they can to make him proud.  It isn’t that the parent would love them any less, but they desire to show their love back.  When we think of God lavishing His love on us, we should think about how much love we are giving Him back.

Making It Personal

    How have you seen God’s love in abundance in your life?  Do you love Him greatly in return?  How can you improve in reciprocating His love?

Making It Personal Kids

    In what ways have you seen God showing His love in great abundance?  How should you love Him?  Does He know you love Him?

Closing Prayer

    Father, thank You for showering us with such love.  Help us understand the depth of Your love and how we should respond with all the love we can muster.  In Jesus’ name, amen.