Heidi Baker: Finding Your Power in God's Lavish Love
Jan 09, 2018 by Alyssa Duvall - HELLO CHRISTIAN
Heidi Baker, acclaimed author and missionary, offers deep wisdom in her book, Birthing The Miraculous, on how the only real way we have any power is through God's love, which he lavishes on us.
"Lavish is an incredibly rich word," Baker says. "It means "over the top, more than you could imagine"—like when we read, 'See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God' (1 John 3:1, NIV)."
Baker explains that, regardless of our personal strengths or merits, none of us deserve to be called sons and daughters of God. "Even if we achieved academic honors in school, the highest promotions in our jobs and every other qualification this world could possibly offer, we would never merit such a gift," she says.
"Only His free and lavish love gives us the most beautiful title of all—not doctor, not lawyer, not apostle, but son or daughter."
"We are the family God went out and found," Heidi says of this deep, lavishing love. "He was so determined to call us sons and daughters that He suffered on a cross and died. Jesus and His Father are one. Whatever Jesus does, the Father does. They act together, and the cross expresses the unity of their love for us."
Baker expounds on the affects of understanding who you are in Christ: "...You don't worry too much about how people see you. You don't worry too much about whether they are nice or mean. You don't even worry about whether they love you or hate you. You don't worry because you're simply going to love them and love Him. This comes from knowing who He is and what He thinks of you. This is what it means to grasp you are a child of God."
But what if we make messy mistakes? What if it turns out we are still flawed people who can be difficult to get along with? Will He keep on loving us then?
Even when we make mistakes, God's grasp on us is firm and His commands for us hold true. Recalling how God gave her a firsthand lesson in how He loves us through our failures, Heidi tells of a particularly rambunctious and difficult foster child she cared for:
"God told me to love him. I sensed the Lord saying He wanted me to give him some time and pray every day for him. So that is what I and the other caretakers did. For a long time we could see no progress. Despite everything, this boy was always very charismatic, and after a while he managed to move to the United Kingdom."
Years later, while speaking in the U.K., Baker recalls an amazing incident in which she saw this "spiritual son" again: "At once I was startled to see how powerfully the presence of God was resting on him. When he came up to me, he started shaking and weeping in my arms. In broken English he said, 'Thank you, Mama. For not stop loving me.'"
What tremendous joy Baker felt upon "seeing him come home to the Father's house and step into the spirit of adoption"! This is remarkably like the joy the Father must feel when we are adopted and grafted in to His family. He loves you, and He wants you.
"This is the love He spoke over us when He sent His Son," Baker continues. "It is what Jesus poured out of the cross. It is the thing the church must demonstrate to the world. Love so lavish can never die."
https://hellochristian.com/11027-heidi-baker-finding-your-power-in-gods-lavish-love-birthing-the-miraculous?

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