Is There Anything Better Than This?

It’s deer season in Pennsylvania, one of my favorite times of the year!  It’s been even better last year and this year, now that my son Isaac is hunting.  I love experiencing deer season in a whole new way with him!

Last year, we hunted hard to get him a shot at his first deer.  After a week of close encounters, he shot a spike one evening after school and made a great shot on it!  It was one of the most thrilling moments of his life, and one of the most thrilling moments of my life.  It was even better than shooting my first deer.   

 

Hunting is one of a handful of things that I’m really passionate about, outside of my family and being a pastor.  I love to fish.  I love the Steelers.  I love watching my kids play sports.  I can be in the midst of doing any one of these things, and think to myself, “It doesn’t get much better than this.”  A lot of you can relate.  Whether it’s pursuing a hobby or passion; spending time with your family; or maybe even working at a job that you love and find to be very rewarding and fulfilling. 

But there is one thing that is better than any of the things in life that can bring us joy and pleasure.  And that is just knowing that we are loved by God!  In today’s reading from 1 John 3, the Apostle John begins the chapter with these words: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us . . .”

We often don’t think about what a wonderful truth that is.  God’s love is often something I take for granted, and I bet most of you do as well.  In our pursuit of everything else we enjoy in life, we tend to forget this most basic and fundamental truth of our faith.  We are loved by God, and really, there’s nothing better than this!

Let’s get Greek for a minute.  The NIV translation completely misses an important word that appears in the Greek: Horao.  It should actually read, “See how great . . .”  And seeing here is far more than just a casual glance.  It means to perceive with the heart and mind; to meditate; and to deeply experience the thing that you are beholding.  In this case, it’s an invitation to drink deeply of the truth that God loves us.

As we continue on in verse 1, we see that it’s a love that he lavishes on us.  Lavish is such a powerful word.  It conjures up images of the finest things in life.  Things of great value and worth that are given or shared willingly with others.  Things that are absolutely incredible, but which we don’t deserve.  I don’t have many things in life that could be described as being lavish.  Not my house.  Not my car.  Not my clothes or possessions.  But God’s love for me is one of the lavish things that I do have.   And because of that, it’s the best thing that I have in my life.

God’s lavish love for us – a love that He invites us to perceive with our hearts and minds and to deeply experience – is far more than just a sentimental or excited feeling.  We live in a culture today that is very, very confused about what love really is.  Most of our cultural expressions of “love” are really lust.  Lust is self-serving and exciting.  Lust is fleeting and based on physical, tangible things like appearance and hormonal reactions in our bodies.  Love is self-sacrificing.  It can be exciting, but it also sustains and carries us through the mundane and even difficult times of life.  Love is enduring and eternal and is based on our worth as people who are created in His image.  

The love of God never stops and never quits!  When we are mired in sin and disobedience, the love of God pursues us!  When we walk through the darkest times in life, the love of God sustains us!  When we don't feel like loving God, he still loves us!  We most clearly and perfectly see the love of God for us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  If you want to know what love looks like, look at Jesus. 

The love of God is magnified when we look at what remains of v.1: “. . . that we should be called children of God!”  The Biblical concept of being called something is deep.  Almost every name in the Biblical narrative has a deeper meaning that adds to the richness of the text.  And to be called a child of God is much deeper than being a biological child.  This means that in his great love for us, God has chosen us to receive a name that is borne of a great desire of His to be in relationship with us.  The entire testimony of Scripture – from Genesis through Revelation – makes a significant distinction between those who are children of God and those who are not.  The children of God – which is what we are when we have been reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ – are the special possession and heirs of the Father.  The children of God are the beloved of God. 

That’s pretty deep and cranial for a blog post but God has declared that this truth is something that we should meditate on and consider deep within our being.  As we wrestle with this wonderful truth, it just makes me wonder, “Is there anything better than this?”  Really.  Is there anything better than knowing deep in my heart and mind that God not only loves me but has chosen me for a relationship with Him?  Is there anything better than knowing that in His love, God sent Jesus to save me and to give me eternal life?  And remember, eternal life isn’t just life that starts when we die.  It’s a new life that begins the moment that we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers in history, and his writings and sermons demonstrate a deep and rich awareness of the truth of 1 John 3:1.   Yesterday, on a Facebook page devoted to sharing hisquotes, this was shared: "Surely there is no greater comfort under Heaven than a sense of sin forgiven and of reconciliation to God by the death of His Son!"

There’s nothing better than this! 

As you consider this, I’d invite you to consider what you’re pursuing today in your life.  Where’s your focus?  How are you spending your time?  How are you spending your money?  What consumes your thoughts and the deep places of your heart?  Is it something that’s really better than the love of God? 

It doesn’t mean that we quit life and go live in a desert.  But it does mean that as we live our lives that we always keep the love of God for us at the forefront of what we do and our thoughts about ourselves and others.  The remainder of 1 John 3 in a nutshell is this: Live like you believe that there’s nothing better than this!  As we focus on God’s love, we focus on becoming like Jesus.  As we focus on God’s love, we have a desire to purify ourselves.  As we focus on God’s love, we focus on the fact that when we sin, we can be forgiven.  As we focus on God’s love, we focus our desires on what pleases God.  And as we focus on God’s love, we focus on loving others and helping them to know this great truth: There really is nothing better than God’s love for us.