If you've ever been to a college football game, you know the key element of the experience--even more than tailgating--is identification with the team. Some people wear jerseys. Some people sport hats, flags, or stickers. Some people drive cars painted with their team's colors. Almost everyone who attends has some "banner of identity" that brands him or her as a fan.

Along those same lines, there are banners that brand Christians as "fans" (or followers) of Christ. That is, certain truths need to be evident in our lives for everyone to see.

*Banner #1: God's love is lavish.*

"How great is the 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)

God's love is lavish. In fact, your very existence can be credited to a God who created you out of love. He made you special (Genesis 1:26). He created you from nothing and set you apart from the plants and animals. He made you the culmination of all creation. He desires the best for you because he created you to experience the best life has to offer.

He even knew you before you were born. The Bible says he knit you in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13). He made your heart beat. He started your brain waves firing. He gave you muscles and created your personality before you came into the world.

He didn't create you to condemn you. He didn't create you for judgment. He didn't create you to make bad decisions and live in sin. But he accounted for that possibility. He provided for you from the beginning of time.

But that's only the tip of his love. When sin threatened to keep you apart from him for eternity, he made the ultimate sacrifice to prevent that from happening. He sent his only Son--one who was perfect, completely innocent of sin--to endure the punishment you deserve for your sin. God allowed his Son to be tortured and murdered for something you did.

And guess what! He didn't just do it for you. He did it for the whole of humanity. He did it for the kid sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria. He did it for your next-door neighbor. He did it for the girl addicted to drugs. He did it for the guy caught in a homosexual lifestyle. He did it for the prostitute on the corner. The Bible says, "For God so loved the WORLD" (John 3:16).

So as we look at the motive and character of God, it's important to see the banner of his lavish love hanging over humanity. He loves, and for us to know him, we need to love, too.

**

Taken from "Love This!" by Andy Braner, copyright 2006,