sunscreen and scripture
Recently as I watched my daughter apply sunscreen to her two year old son’s face and body I was reminded of a vivid word picture a friend/chaplain had used to explain the word “lavish” to a group of summer campers. She asked “Has your mom or grandmother ever put sunscreen on you?” I could tell by the campers’ reaction that the answer was yes and they knew exactly what that felt like. It isn’t a little dab here or there. It is a full out let’s lather you up, rub it in and not miss a spot. My friend went on to dramatize a mom applying sunscreen. It was quite a show. And then she taught on 1John 3:1:
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1 NIV
The KJV translation uses the word “Behold” encouraging us to stop and marvel at “what great love the Father has lavished on us.” I love that word lavish. His great love is a gift. God didn’t hold back. He gave his all for us “that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!” A good thing to ponder each and every morning. The Message translation states: “That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.” My prayer is as we go about our days that people will begin to have an idea of who God is because of the way we conduct our lives and because of how grateful we are for His lavish love.
One final thought- don’t forget the sunscreen. Just for fun a photo of my grandson on his second birthday after his sunscreen was applied.
Reminds me of the old saying “a dab will due ya” but when it comes to Gods love, I don’t want just a dab. Love the word lavish, what a great thought about God’s love for us.
What a great word picture about His love for us and all that put their trust in Him.