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God’s great love

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).

In a month when love is on many people’s minds (looking at you, Valentine’s Day), it’s fitting to remember the greatest love of all. That, of course, is God’s great love for you.

Declared God’s child

But what exactly makes God’s love for you so great? First John 3:1 tells us. God’s love for you is great because it makes you a child of God. That’s a big deal! It’s a big deal because of what you are without God’s love. Apart from God’s love, you are an enemy of God, an object of his wrath, and a person without a place in heaven. Without God’s love, you are lost, condemned, and doomed to hell. This is what you’re called without God’s love: lost and condemned sinner. This is what you are without God’s love: lost and condemned sinner.

But then God steps in with his great love and says, “No! This person is not my enemy but my child. He is not an object of my wrath but someone I love dearly. She is not condemned to hell but is headed to heaven. They are no longer lost and condemned sinners. They are my children, beloved, and saved. Period.” This is what you are called because of God’s great love: child of God. This is what you are because of God’s great love: child of God. Isn’t God’s love great?

Lavished with love

God’s love is also great because of how much love God gives you. First John 3:1 says that God has lavished his love on you. That means God has given you a huge, heaping amount of love. It’s an amount of love you might not fully grasp, but you might begin to understand it when you look at Brad Lewis.

Brad Lewis is a dad who lives in Australia. A few years ago, Brad was playing with his young son Oscar on a third-story deck. Oscar was shooting Nerf darts when a few blew over the edge of the deck. Oscar leaned over the railing to see where they went, but then he leaned too far. He lost his balance, went over the edge, and began to fall to the ground 20 feet below. When Brad saw this, he didn’t hesitate. He threw himself over the edge of the deck and grabbed his falling son. As father and son plummeted to earth, Brad twisted around so that he hit the ground first. He broke Oscar’s fall with his own body.

This is what you are called because of God’s great love: child of God.

Oscar bumped his head and was quite scared but was otherwise unharmed. But Brad? Brad broke his back. He fractured his skull. Really, the doctors say, he should not have survived. But he did. He not only survived but also made a full recovery. That’s a father lavishing love on his son. That’s a father giving up himself to save his child.

Brad Lewis has a lot of love for his child, but God has even more love for his children. He gave up his Son to save you. He sacrificed his Son Jesus to make you his child. That amount of love is incredible. It’s astonishing. It’s staggering. You don’t deserve that much love, but that’s how much God loves you. Isn’t God’s love great?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me always be thankful for the great love you have lavished on me. Amen.

Author: Evan Chartrand
Volume 112, Number 02
Issue: February 2025

This entry is part 1 of 68 in the series devotion

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This entry is part 1 of 68 in the series devotion