Extravagant Love!

This series gives real life examples of where our Creator shows us how to love extravagantly.

In like manner we are told to give our lives away, to die to self.

The example of Jesus of Nazareth, our Creator, is to love extravagantly.

Most everyone in the West knows the story of the Prodigal Son from the Bible. In the parable the father represents Creator God, and the sons represent us. The young man around whom the story is centred wanted his inheritance - received it - squandered it - came crawling home hoping that the best he could do was become his Father’s “hired” servant.

In those days there were three kinds of servants:
1) Those like you might find at a Day Labour Station - Come to do a job, get paid for the job and then go home.

2) Hired Servants - (the kind the son asked to become) who worked long hours for wages but maintained their “freedom” and lived in their own home.

3) Bond Servants, more commonly known as slaves - those who were most usually working off debts.

Thinking of how ungrateful, irresponsible and selfish the boy was, most people would expect him to ask to become his Father’s slave. At least he’d have a place to sleep and food to eat. Not this boy. This son, still scheming for independence was not prepared for the extravagant love of the Father.

He asked to be a hired servant but his dad would have none of it.

We think he was asking for too much.
His Father thought he was asking for too little.
His dad reinstated the boy with full rights of sonship.

Isn’t that how we are tempted to love our spouses, or even to expect love from our spouses? If we do enough for each other them we might receive some love in return?

Isn’t that how we see our relationship with God? “I’ll do for Him and perhaps He’ll throw some kindness my way.”

“While we were still His enemies, Jesus died for us.”

God says:
Love extravagantly.
Love because it’s the right thing to do.
Love with no expectation of return in kind.
Love because that’s the person God has made you.

Ps. 9:9,10 - The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

THIS is love!