Reckless Love

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Day One: Is God’s Love Reckless?

I’ve been asked countless times how and why I would choose to use a word like reckless to describe the love of God. Allow me to illustrate this idea in an analogy. 

A father plans to surprise his son with the gift of a lifetime: a red Lamborghini Aventador S for his sixteenth birthday. This model retails for almost half a million dollars.

Do you think it’s a sensible thing to do? I suggest that, in light of what we know about the general temperament of most teenagers, it is not sensible.

But was it a foolish gesture? I’d like to suggest that it was not.

You see, God doesn’t give gifts according to our ability to steward them perfectly or on our worthiness to receive them. Neither did the father in this story. God gives according to one criterion—His ridiculous kindness.

It’s His nature; He cannot be any other way. His character is overflow. There’s no caution in His kindness; there’s only lavishness.

• Think back to the first time you heard “Reckless Love.” What was your reaction to the word reckless?
• As you read my description of God’s reckless love, what deepened your understanding of God’s love for you? Which insight left you wanting to explore His love more?
• If you could draw a picture that represented how you feel about God’s reckless love, what would it look like?

Scriptures: Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 10:52, Luke 15:1-7, John 12:3

DAY TWO: Why He Leaves the Ninety-Nine

Jesus leaves the ninety-nine for the ones who know their need. Like blind Bartimaeus, these “ones” are often the loudest. Like the woman with the issue of blood, these “ones” despise cultural norms and religious regulations that attempt to keep them in line because their need for a cure is greater than their fear of public humiliation.

Like Mary of Bethany who anointed Jesus’ feet in the middle of a room full of stuffy, religious men, these “ones” don’t care about disrupting the status quo.

These “ones” cannot keep silent because silence would relegate them to lives that are less than what Jesus paid for with His precious blood.

Some days, you are one of the ninety-nine, partying at the Shepherd’s house. On other days, you are the lost one bleating frantically to be found. Either way, you have a responsibility. As one of the ninety-nine, it is to rejoice when a lost one is found. As a lost one, your responsibility is to keep watching for the Shepherd because He is coming for you. 

• Have you ever been one of the “ones” who just needed Jesus so much? 
• Perhaps it’s been a long time since you felt like a lost one. What is something you can do today to come alongside Jesus as He hunts for His lost sheep?

Scriptures: Romans 10:8-11, Acts 2:21

DAY THREE: No Shadow, No Mountain

There’s truly nothing God won’t do to rescue you. When you’re in distress, He’ll go to the lowest, darkest, and farthest place to bring you home.

There is, however, one thing that He will not do on His divine rescue mission. He will not take something that is not offered to Him freely. God exercises restraint in His strength, patiently waiting until we invite Him in. Why? Because He’s a God of love, and love always gives the supreme honor of choice. Love without choice is not love at all.

The part we get to play in God’s saving grace is simply allowing Him to do all the forgiving, cleansing, and restoration. He wants to give Himself away. He’s already gone to insane lengths to find us and provide a way back home; all we have to do is acquiesce to the collision of grace on the prodigal road.

Father, I choose now to receive all the love You have for me. If You gave up Your Son, You will surely give me everything else I need. I freely offer all to You. I want to be meek like Jesus and pleasing to You, as He was. I receive Your grace, all of it—your undeserved, unearned grace—and I respond with joy and thankfulness.

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, Romans 3:22-26

DAY FOUR: Why You Must Know God’s Reckless Love

The doctrine of repentance as taught in Scripture is at the center of the Christian faith. Without it, many scholars would argue, one cannot be genuinely saved. Repentance is the radical moment of turning back to our Father after we’ve run away in sin.

The reason we sin is not an enigma. In fact, it is quite simple. We sin because we have yet to be completely convinced of God’s goodness.

This is why encountering God’s reckless love is not an option. If we can’t receive God’s love, we won’t enjoy His presence. If we can’t enjoy His presence, we’ll leave and look for love elsewhere. Living in the light of God’s smile is essential in our battle with sin because until we find more satisfaction in the love of God than we do in sin, we will continue to fall.

While Satan tells us we are sinners struggling to love God, the Father calls us lovers of God who struggle with sin. We have hope because we know our sin has an expiration date. A day is coming when sin will be but a faint memory, fading in the blinding light of God’s glory.

• Bring to mind a sin that you have confessed to God in the last week. Now ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the root issue behind this sin. Spend some time pondering and listening.

Scripture: Luke 15:18-24

DAY FIVE: How the Father Chases You Down

I imagine the prodigal son on the long walk home, rehearsing the words he’d say to his father. To his surprise, his father comes running. He throws his arms around the son, kissing his neck with paternal affection.

In Middle Eastern culture, it was shameful for a man to “gird his loins” (which means he pulled up his pants really high) and run because it violated social norms. But the father abandoned all semblance of religious piety for the sake of love—because embracing his son was supremely important.

That’s the love of God.

Our prodigal God kills the fatted calf and throws a feast for sinners when they deserve to starve. He is wastefully extravagant for the ones who come home smelling like a pigsty, the ones who despise the shame and take the long journey back, despite what everyone will think. When any of us says, “I’m no longer worthy of being called Your child,” He says, “Quick! Bring the best robe, ring, and sandals! For this child of mine was dead and is alive again! My child was lost but now is found!”

• How do you need or want the Father’s love to be extravagant and reckless toward you today?