In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Ephesians 1:7-10
Growing up in a house where my parents went through the depression, we lived on the edge of having just enough. We NEVER wasted anything. Ever. We scraped out the mayonnaise jar with a rubber spatula to get every last ounce out. We ran our finger around the inside of a can of baked beans to get all the juice out. If anything grew mold, we’d pull or cut it off and use the rest.
With two growing boys, there rarely were any leftovers. But if there were, I was responsible to carefully put it in a covered Tupperware bowl before storing it in the refrigerator. We didn’t use plastic Seran® Wrap[1] because it got thrown away, and that would be wasteful.
We never planned to have extra. We always, always, always planned to have just enough. When we had a family picnic, we always bought just enough hamburgers, hotdogs, sodas, beer, ice. And if by chance there was anything leftover, it went in the refrigerator. Except for the ice, that was put into the freezer for another day.
But God’s not like this at all. When it comes to his redemption, there are no limits to his love and mercy. When Jesus died, he fully paid our ransom. There can never be any more ransom demands put on us. His blood and death once and for all bought us back from the slavery of sin that we had sold ourselves into.
Our sin nature, our wanting to live life our way, and all the individual sins that came along with it, were forgiven. They were sent away once and for all. We were totally released, set free to worship and serve him.
God came against our sin not with a stick. Not with yelling and screaming. Not with guilt and shame. But with his grace. He came after us. He leaned into us. Grace is God’s purposeful reaching out to you and me.
And how much grace was there? Not just enough, but way more. It was so much that he lavished it on us. It was so much more than we could ever deserve or expect. Over and above anything we could imagine. It overflowed all around us.
When God does something, when he reaches out to us, he does it in a big way. There are no shortcuts. There are no cheap substitutes. There are no discounts. There are no coupons. No, he goes all out, all the way when it comes to bringing us back.
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
His love, his deep desire for nothing but the very best for us, isn’t given out in small amounts. He doesn’t measure out his love by the ounce. He’s never stingy with it. Just the opposite.
God has fully given his love for us on the cross. It’s given and there is nothing that anyone can do to remove it. It was given and is still there for us today. It hasn’t gotten old. It hasn’t lost its strength or effectiveness. His love is here today, still actively reaching out.
He has given his love with lavish extravagance. He’s reaching out in and through his love. To you. To me. To everyone who would believe[2]. Now if that’s not good news, I don’t know what is.
That’s exactly who God is. He’s the lavish, loving God who longs for you to be reunited with him. He wants you so badly that he did all that was needed, and then some. There’s nothing standing in the way between us and God.
The reason I know is because the price has already been fully paid. Our debt has been removed. The mountain of sins has been eliminated, covered by the blood of Jesus. His suffering, death, and resurrection completed everything, and then some, so we could come back to God.
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.[3]
God lavished himself, his love on us. It wasn’t just enough. It was more than enough.
Noodling Questions
Since the redemption is done, how does that change your expectations about life?
What does the word “lavish” make you think and feel about yourself?
Why is it difficult to accept the fact that God is a lavishing God?
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