God Does Not Skimp

I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch almost everyday. That is because peanut butter is my favorite food and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is easy to make. I eat a bunch of peanut butter. My wife buys the largest container of peanut butter she can find. We usually have two or three containers of that precious spread in our cabinet. We never run out of peanut butter or coffee. I am a master at making the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My jelly of choice is strawberry. Grape will do if we run out of strawberry. When I make a sandwich I apply a generous portion of peanut butter.  Sometimes I will spread peanut butter on both slices of bread so that the jelly is trapped snugly in between the two layers of peanut butter. I never skimp on the peanut butter or the jelly. I do not like a skimpy peanut butter and jelly sandwiche!

I guess it is our nature to want a generous portion of what we like. We appreciate it when someone gives us generous gifts. Most of the time if we are given a really nice gift it is from someone who loves us and cares deeply for us.  Their nice gift is an expression of their love and affection. And who loves us more than God? God enjoys giving gifts. Sometimes we may forget just how generous God is. There is no one who loves us the way God loves us. There is no one who gives the way God gives. The Bible teaches that God lavishes us with gifts. To lavish is to bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities. Notice what God's word says about his lavish giving, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he ‘LAVISHED’ on us. With all wisdom and understanding," Ephesians 1:4-8 (NIV)

God lavishes us with his grace--gifts that you and I don't deserve. He takes great pleasure in giving to us gifts which are according to his perfect will. God knows exactly what we need. His gifts are precious, rich, elaborate and priceless. God gave us his most precious gift, the One he loves, his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the grace that he lavished on you and me. Why did he do this? He did it because he loves us. God keeps on giving. He gives us everything we need, more than we need and at exactly the time we need it. God never skimps. He is the generous giver of all good things. We might say that he lavishly covers both sides of our bread.