Morning Musings-Lavish Love

Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...





You want proof?  God proved His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, His Son, Jesus Christ, died for us (Romans 5:8).  We see in 1 John 3:1-3 that God's love was lavished upon us.  That means full and overflowing, like more than was actually necessary, so to speak.  He gave and gave and gave, and still gives His love to those of us who are also now His children.

We will one day "appear with Him" (Revelation 21:1-4).  The euphoria of that day to come can only be imagined in an earthly example which, of course, could never really measure up...

The Sultan of B, when he makes official public appearances often has, besides the crown prince and the crown prince's brother, and the Sultan's many nobles, two of his youngest children, a very young son and daughter.  They 'appear' with him and this is an honor.

There is a certain demeanor and decorum for these distinguished people to acquire if they expect to appear with His Majesty the Sultan.  So too, we who are the children of God, need to be circumspect.  If we have "this hope" of appearing with Jesus some day, we have to behave.  More than that, we must "purify ourselves as Jesus is pure" (see 1 John 5:18).

Our privilege of appearing with Jesus in all His glory in time to come, is all because of God's lavish love on us in the first place.  When we become God's child through faith in Jesus Christ and because of His love to us, He gave Jesus so that "whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  This is what God's lavish love did for us!  Forgiveness of sins and everlasting life!!

Because of that lavish love, and our imminent appearance with Him in due time, we too have a "code of behavior" to be responsible to adhere to.  In Jesus is no sin.  If we are God's children we are to follow Jesus's example to be "holy as He is holy" and to stop sinning.  

We have the Holy Spirit to help convict us when and where necessary and have the power to overcome our sin bent nature (1 John 3:4-6).  Ask for such help to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's convictions of sin in our life and then repent, renounce and confess to God in Jesus's name.

When we deliberately keep on sinning it will show that we are not "living in Him".  Let us do what is right and be righteous as God our Heavenly Father is.  Those who keep on sinning are said to be from the devil who sinned from the beginning (1 John 3:7-10).  The Son of Man, Jesus, appeared to destroy the devil's work.  If a person is born of God, he or she will NOT continue to sin (vs 6).  We've been born again of God's seed, we cannot go on sinning (eg.  apple seeds produce apples, similarly God's righteous seed produces righteousness). 

The way to gauge if someone is born of God or born of the devil is if they keep on sinning or not.  (Of course God is the ultimate Judge of who is and isn't His child but we can get an idea of it.)  The devil's work is to cause us all to sin and to turn away from God and His holy standards.  As children of God, who have God's divine power and nature indwelling us, we are potentially enabled to choose to make every effort to live for God and to "be holy as He is holy" (1 Peter 1:15, 16).  When we are busy with these endeavors we can forestall Satan's wiles and so live for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Thank Him and God, your Heavenly Father, then, for His lavish love which empowers and triggers all this to happen from the 'get go'.

                                                           ~ERC  2016~