Extravagance

​ Extravagance. I have been thinking about this word a lot lately. What does extravagance mean to you? What comes to mind when you think of extravagance? The dictionary defines extravagance as "lack of restraint in spending money or use of resources." Lack of restraint…

    I don't have restraint in many areas. Lack of restraint in how much chocolate I eat or how much t.v. I watch. Is that the same thing as the extravagance we talk about when discussing God's extravagant grace?

    The Bible tells us many times that God freely gives us grace and extravagant grace. God's grace is lavished on us. This past weekend at the Women's Retreat, we discussed some of Jesus' miracles. He was feeding the 5000, turning water into wine, and raising Lazarus from the dead. What Jesus did is extravagant. Twelve leftover baskets of food, 180 gallons of wine, waiting until Lazarus was dead. As I began to reflect on this weekend, I began to remember more miracles and how those show extravagances as well. Catching so many fish that the nets broke, calming a storm with His voice. Why did Jesus have to offer such extravagance?

    I don't know about you, but I get so wrapped up in my world sometimes that I often don't see what is going on all around me. I am beginning to wonder if Jesus using such extravagance was to show a point, or get people's attention. So many times the disciples would question Jesus. Maybe during these miracles, He was extravagant to show that He was the only One who could make those things happen.

    God doesn't just give us grace but extravagantly gives us grace. So much grace that we don't know what to do. We continue to sin and fall short and mess up. We continue to turn our eyes from Him. God still lavishes us with His grace through all His wisdom and understanding.

Stephanie Dunn
Christian Education Coordinator