Extravagant love is the only love God gives. He loves with all-or-nothing passion for each of us. Look at the world He created. At this very moment I am watching the red, red cardinals playing in our backyard. Around the neighborhood these cool Autumn days’ trees are brightening with color in tribute to the One who created them all; and as a first-time grandfather I am all too aware of the creative miracle God works each time a baby is born. Then there is Jesus. He came from Heaven to be born in Bethlehem. He lived in exile in Egypt with his poor, working class parents. He grew to manhood in Nazareth where he learned the hard labor of a carpenter. He obeyed God, his Father, always; baptized in the Jordan, tempted in the wilderness, sacrificed in Jerusalem, resurrected from Joseph’s tomb. He will return to gather His own unto Himself in glory. Finally, there is God’s presence in my life as a child to godly parents, as a young teacher surrounded by loving, Christian friends, as a missionary uplifted by his Spirit at work in the lives of Nigerians around me, as a husband and a father to the most loving of families, as an aging worker challenged and encouraged to keep on trusting by dear colleagues, students and families at Sahel Academy in Niamey, Niger. Yes, God loves extravagantly; my whole heart, soul, mind and strength can do nothing other than bear testimony to that incredible, wonderful reality.

God Only Loves Extravagantly

God only loves
Extravagantly,
Look at a rose
And you will see
Creation rich,
Defying
Mediocrity.

God only loves
Extravagantly,
Listen as birds
Chatter their joy,
Life that is busy,
Ridiculing
Melancholy.

God only loves
Extravagantly,
Look close at a
Baby fresh new born,
Love and life joined,
Mocking
Incredulity.

God only loves
Extravagantly,
See His Garden
Designed perfectly
A home so true,
Perfecting
Liberty.

God only loves
Extravagantly,
Sacrificial
Blood of the lamb
Forgiveness,
Fulfilling
Accountability.

God only loves
Extravagantly,
His Law in our
Hearts new, soft,
Fellowship
Surpassing
Legality.

God only loves
Extravagantly,
Jesus His son
Living and dying
To set us free,
Revealing
Reality.

M.S.
February 10, 2007
I John 3: 1