Come Up Here And See

God’s great love allows us to be called children of God! 

1 John 3: 1 NIV 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 word “lavished” means bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities on. Or cover something thickly or liberally with. Merriam Webster dictionary.

When I think of lavished upon or extravagant, I cannot help but think of:

Esther 2: 12 NKJV ¹² Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women.

The first six months of myrrh were to take all the iniquities of the past away like a death process and the remaining six months she was lavished in oil of perfumes, spices because she was being prepared to meet her king and to be in his presence.

This is the same process that we go through. We have forgiveness of taking away our sins which is part of the myrrh process of the first six months and thankfully we are being bathed daily in the oil of the Holy Spirit for our daily walk in Christ which is preparation of the last six months so that we can meet the King and be in His presence daily.

How much more do we have to realize that God’s love is a lavish gift, more costly that all the gold, all the precious stones, things that we would see as so beautiful here.

When Mary poured out that oil on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair and then the whole house was filled with perfume, and if we are not careful, we could react like Judas and complain about the lavishness that was poured out on Jesus. To me that pouring of oil on Jesus and His willingness to receive reminds me that He loves my worship, no matter the tune or off tune, my thankfulness, my honour that I give Him.

John 12:3 NKJV Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

The Old Testament, the law was given to show us that we need a Saviour because we cannot keep the law and that we need the empowering grace that only Christ Jesus can provide. In the story of the sinner or prostitute who anointed Jesus with oil and her tears gives me hope that the Lord God Almighty has a generous love for me, forgiveness that I can receive from Him and then give to others because I absolutely cannot do this on my own.

Jesus was invited to Simon the Pharisee’s home for dinner. In that city a well-known sinner in the city, a prostitute came to see Jesus the righteous one. She came with an alabaster vial of oil perfume and wet his feet with her tears, wiping them and anointing with them with perfume. Jesus does not rebuke her, he receives that lavish gift of oil, kisses, anointing and then lavishes her with forgiveness of sins. Not only that but in verse 50 Jesus says to her “your faith has saved you; go in peace”. Luke 7: 35-50

This is what the amazing, generous love of God does, that great love of God that he has extended to us, bestowed upon us that we could be forgiven and then we are able to lavish that gift of love to God first, to ourselves and then to ourselves.

Matt 22: 37-39 ICB  ³⁷ Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and most important command. ³⁹ And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’^[b]

Because of this amazing, magnificent, sacrificial love of God we are called children of God. At all times no matter of what we have done or believed about ourselves, our frustrations we can still come running into the arms of God and jump up into His lap, skip and dance before Him because we are to have childlike faith knowing who He is and who He has called us to be. He is my Daddy. Therefore I am not afraid that what I share with others may not seem profound because my heart’s desire is to have childlike faith that believes what God says is true.

Matt 18:3 AMPC And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turnabout) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all].