Glenda Shouse: The Perfect Cake
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
~1 John 3:1 NKJV
Mmmmm… That bowl of butter-cream icing looks yummy. It is ready to be lavished on three perfect cake layers.
Oh, wait a minute. They’re not perfect. One cake is split and another has a missing piece that stuck to the pan. However, once I lavish them with this luscious topping, they will look beautiful.
Just like the icing smooths out the imperfections of the cakes, we look to our Heavenly Father who perfects us by lavishing His love upon us. His love covers our imperfections until all that can be seen is the beauty of Jesus within us.
Lavish! 1 John 3:1 references a rich word. It reminds me of the woman who lavished the head of Jesus with the most valuable thing she owned—she donned Her Savior’s crown with the perfumed oil of her dowry. She did not hold back, but she gave her most cherished possession. (see Mark 14:3 to read her story)
Let’s define “lavish.” It means, “to give in profusion, or great amounts, or without limits.” Don’t you just love this word? Lavish! Say it and see how it feels in your mouth. Just like the lovely cake, this word almost makes your mouth water. It is so rich. It’s like tasting the icing on the spatula you ice the cake with.
Take a moment to step into the world of imagination. Take more than a sample spoonful of the word, lavish. Don’t be satisfied to taste a sample. Fill your mouth with this word, lavish. Why? Father God has a limitless supply of love for you. He has lavished you with more love than we can imagine. That’s what our Heavenly Father gives to us, because we are His children. He continually pours out His love on us, in us, and through us. He fills us to overflowing. Then with the help of the Holy Spirit we can share His marvelous love with everyone.
We desire to pour out love on our family, our friends, and others we encounter as we go about our day. We want them to know they are loved. The love we share is only a small sampling of the enormous love the Father has for them, and He entrusts us to be His representative.
Just like the icing smooths out the imperfections of the cakes, we look to our Heavenly Father who perfects us by lavishing His love upon us. His love covers our imperfections until all that can be seen is the beauty of Jesus within us.
~Glenda Shouse, contributing author to Love Knots: Stories of Faith, Family, and Friendships
Not only does Father God lavish His love on and through us, but He also lavishes us with unlimited grace. Paul shares, “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 1:7-8 NIV).
What a marvelous Father we have! He covers us and fills us with His love and grace. “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8 NIV).
Share an experience where God lavished you with His love.
Father God, I receive the lavish love and grace You pour into my life. Help me to be Your representative, sharing this with others. It is my joy to serve as Your ambassador.
In Your Son Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen.
Genre: Non-fiction
Copyright 2019: The Perfect Cake: Author Glenda Shouse: All Rights Reserved
Meet Our Contributor
GLENDA SHOUSE
Glenda Shouse is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More, and a contributing author to Love-Knots: Stories of Faith, Family, and Friendships (VineWords Publishing).
Glenda’s prayer shawl ministry, Three-Strand Cord, focuses on imparting hope to ladies going through difficult times. Each recipient is gifted with a hand-crocheted or knitted prayer shawl she has prayed over with each stitch. When possible, Glenda delivers these shawls personally and prays with the recipients.
Those who know Glenda well are aware of her gifting as a prayer warrior. She is a powerhouse of prayer because of her close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
She is published at Answers2Prayer, Christian Devotions Ministries, PresbyCan, The Upper Room, and other ministries.
In her spare time, Glenda enjoys her role as “Grammy” to her two grandsons. She also enjoys reading, crocheting, and knitting.
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I love this allegory. And “lavish” is such a descriptive word. Your post made me want to eat a big slice of cake, lavished with tons of icing! Good job, Glenda.
“The love we share is only a small sampling of the enormous love the Father has for them, and He entrusts us to be His representative.”
This was my main takeaway, but every word of this was a blessing to me. Huge thanks Glenda!
Thanks Shandra, That is one of my favorite verses.
Glenda, I do like the word lavish. Your description of the cake is so appealing that I can envision decorating and eating a delicious cake. Better yet is to lavish ourselves upon the word of God. Being in the word helps me live the life God intended for me.
Thank you Maria. I agree with you, let’s daily lavish our hearts with the word of God.
Thank you, Glenda, for reminding us of the great love God lavishes upon us. I LOVE this devotion.
Thank you Diane for sharing my devotion on VineWords Devotions and more. My favorite website because there are so many wonderful devotions posted here.
Thank you very much, Glenda. We are blessed to have such talented Contributors. I thank God for each of you. Thanks for sharing your talents with VineWords.