Ask yourself, does God’s amazing love capture your heart, stir your soul, and renew your mind? Do you feel his overwhelming love and presence continually? Christ’s love is extravagant. It is an overwhelming sensation, one that overtakes anything we have read about or experienced in a worldly manner. We can trust this, but it is another thing to really, really believe it know it and experience this magnificent emotion and action.
I remember many years ago I was suffering with asthma. I didn’t have a puffer at the time and I was very scared – it was bad. When you are struggling to breathe it can seem like a matter of life and death. Because I didn’t have any medication I just lay back on my pillow and focused on God’s love. It was a deliberate intention, as I couldn’t do anything else. I felt this amazing sensation of love moving so strongly around and within me. So through this my healing surfaced and when I saw my doctor I told him what had happened and he was amazed. It was so wonderful to encounter this powerful force and to breathe again. And it was a great testimony.
Love is all around us – everywhere we look, everywhere we go. It is what life is all about. We often think and talk about love, but what is this extravagant love – the love God has for us? It is beyond our comprehension, but it is certainly a reality. It is a love that is referred to as excessively high, exceeding the bounds of reason and going beyond what is deserved or justifiable. This is how our Saviour loves us.
The majority of humans have lived with a minor quality of love – if it is love at all. Sadly there are some who have never experienced any kind of love in their lives. Many say they really don’t know what love is and how they can love. They don’t know what to expect in love. This is why we often settle for less than we deserve. This is not what God has ordained for us. I know this is what the world offers and says is okay. This is what people settle for. But… there is more if we can see ourselves as God sees us. His love is so consuming. He wants the highest and best for his children.
But this love – all consuming love – must start within us. We must value and respect ourselves to begin with and know who we are in Christ. We are children of the most high God, we rule and reign with Christ. We have this incredible privilege and this is all because of God’s extraordinary love.
I believe it is up to us to want this extravagant love. God says to seek and we shall find. And great honour and respect walk beside this. This is what and who we are because of Christ. It takes a change of mindset and belief system to acquire all that God has for us. This means discipline and focus to bring about the life that is destined for us.
Christ calls us to run to him – into his arms. His perfume envelops us as we sink more and more into him. His beauty rests upon us as we give him our all.
Only God can offer this to us – the world, sadly, doesn’t know anything about this form of love. The majority of people settle for mediocre love and life in general. They don’t understand the ferocious love of the Father.
God’s love also encompasses honour and respect. This also is bestowed upon us. Once again, we have to have this operating with us and believe it. This is part of Him and who He has made us to be. We are in Him and He is in us.
Just imagine what our lives could be like and how free we could feel if love, respect and honour were extravagant and ruling in our lives. But we need to bring this into our own inner world firstly before we can experience it fully in our outward lives. People won’t respect or honour us if we don’t feel this ourselves.
Honour means high respect and great esteem. Are people treating us in this way?
Respect speaks of a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something. And due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others! These are pretty strong statements but ones that relate (or should) relate to us. This is God’s ultimate for us as experienced in the Garden of Eden.
1 John 3 The Voice (VOICE)
3 Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children.
Lynn Goldsmith
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