ex·trav·a·gance: unrestrained or fantastic excess, as of actions or opinions
1 John 3:18
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
This scripture is foundational to what we are to build our expression of love on. How are we doing at showing our love to each other as fellow believers? Further more, how are we doing at showing our love to those around us that operate in our lives like sand paper? You know the person I am talking about. The person that just has to walk in the room and they seem to get on your nerves without even saying a word or so much as glancing your direction. If you have no idea who that person is it is told that it may be good to look in the mirror……you may be the sand paper for someone else. To a lesser degree there may be that person who is just so intimidating to you that there is NO WAY that you are going to even risk smiling at them…….or should you?
To some degree it is always going to be uncomfortable, intimidating and even awkward to step out of our comfort zone and into the world of a bystander that is in as much need for love as we are. It must have been all of those and more for Jesus to step out and risk His life for the hope that we would reciprocate with our sacrifice of self. The first step is for us to except the love that Jesus was compelled by on that day when He walked that long road to His certain death. Do I believe with my inner most being and through my deepest insecurities that Jesus loved me that much? How can I even begin to understand the depth and purity of that kind of love that sacrifices without motive for returned value? As a human that is flawed it is difficult for me, with perfect motive, to love those around me. If we were to be honest we must all admit that there is an underlying hope that we all have of a reciprocated value as the result of our love in action. As I think through it more I realize that God, even Jesus, operated with the same underlying hope. Jesus went to the cross without guarantee, as mentioned before, but full of hope about our return to His father as our first love. It seems to me that all of us must love with reckless extravagance from the river (ahuva in Greek) of life that flows through us (Holy Spirit) and do so in such a manner that those around us would possibly drown under the rush of God’s love through us. All the while, we must hold onto a greater hope, a greater hope that if we do not get the chance to see this occur within our lifetime in those lives around us that another river of life and love will water the eternal seeds that Christ has planted through us.
So...do we dare to love with reckless extravagance....I say yes, how about you?
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