Lavish, Soaking Love

Beloved in Christ,

One day early last summer, Asa and I set out for a day of fishing at a few metro area lakes. When we reached our spot, it began to drizzle lightly, which, over the course of an hour, turned into a heavy, soaking rain. We were not at all prepared, and had brought no umbrella or rain coats. When it became clear this was not just a passing rain, we shrugged our shoulders and kept fishing, letting the rain soak us and just enjoying being outside together. 

Love is the intersection of mercy, kindness, and delight. Bishop Matt Gunter of Fond Du Lac reminded me in a sermon this week that God is always seeking to lavish mercy, kindness, and delight on us like a heavy rain, and we often go through life with layers of rain gear and umbrellas that keep us from knowing it’s there. One way to think about Lent is as an invitation to shed some of the protective layers that keep us from receiving the nourishing rain of mercy, kindness, and delight. 

As you prepare for Lent next week, what distractions, false beliefs, fears, are building up layers between your soul and God’s lavish love? What can you do to really feel that love soaking into the deepest parts of your soul?

God’s mercy, kindness, and delight aren’t lavished on us just to make us feel good, but so that our lives join God in lavishing that love on the world. We receive it so that we can give it away. Lent is a time to focus on allowing God to fill us up, so that we can be sent out to give it all away, over and over again, until the whole world is flooded with God’s perfect, healing love. 

Grace and Peace,

The Right Reverend Craig Loya