Someone responded to my last devotion and my use of the word “lavish” to describe how God wants to give us His love and kindness. She very honestly commented about how it didn’t feel like God lavishes those things in our lives. I went to 1 John 3:1 where my version says Lavish, but I promised to do a Greek word study on that word.

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.

The actual word used is simply “give”, but when combined with the terms “great love” or “incredible quality of love”, it has sometimes been translated as lavished.

But I looked up how that greek word for give was used in the New Testament, and I saw something else that interested me. 90% of the time the word give or given is used, it is about God giving something to us. Just in the book of John:

He gives light to everyone.
Out of His fullness we have all received grace.
Through Moses He gave the Law.
His Spirit gives birth to spirit.
We receive only what is given from heaven.
God gives the Spirit without limit.
He gives us living water so we will never thirst again.
He gives life.
God gives us food that endures to eternal life, the true bread from heaven that gives life to the world.
He shall lose none of those whom the Father has given to the Son.

I think that sometimes we forget all that God gives us as we rush through our days. Some things we take for granted, like the rebirth of our spirit that allows us to communicate with the Holy Spirit who lives within us, and the eternal life that we already have living with us that will carry us through death into heaven. We don’t recognize the grace (divine empowerment to obey Him) that He has granted to us.

I think the thing that many of the women I know struggle with the most is FEELING His love. They are so used to the secular and physical forms of love and pseudo-intimacy from lovers and friends that they either don’t recognize His love when it is offered to them, or aren’t interested in that form of love. Many women just want a man with skin on to give them value and make them feel physically loved.

But God offers so much more than that – complete acceptance of who we are, and since He is more intimately acquainted with us than any human being, that is amazing. People around us can only stand us for so long, but He longs to be with us at ALL times.

Questions for today:
1. What in this list of things that He has given to you do you overlook or not think about during your normal routine?
2. What parts of what He gives are you aware of and consciously thankful for?
3. How can you consciously look for and remember all of these things He has bestowed upon us?