Unrestrained Extravagant Love by Pastor Karena Lout

When Todd and I were engaged, he'd often put his affection for me on display by extravagantly proposing to me over and over again when we were out on a date. But if you know Todd, this probably doesn't come as a surprise. Whether we were at a restaurant or a park, onlookers would applaud every time as I said, "Yes!" Love makes you do crazy things. You want to shout it out across every mountaintop. Embarrassment and restraint are pretty nonexistent.

I revel in the unrestrained, radical love that Jesus continually lavishes over me. Love tore the veil and broke down any wall that would separate. Christ took death upon Himself to guarantee that we would enjoy inseparable union together for eternity. Our hearts can't help but respond in sweet adoration and abandoned devotion.

"Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." John 12:3

Mary of Bethany was a young single woman, with no known public ministry. She unashamedly spent a year's wages, her whole inheritance, as she poured her costly perfume out over Jesus. This was simply her response to love. She was mocked for what was considered a "waste" but Jesus openly received it with love and honor. He says in Mark 14, "Wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, I want what this woman has done to also be told." This is His value for intimate relationship. Mary wasn't known in the courts of men during her lifetime, yet her devotion would be remembered all throughout history. Mark 14:8 says, "She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial." Mary saw the cross before it happened. Her heart was postured in a way that she could recognize her inclusion in Christ's burial and resurrection. The sweet fragrance of her love would forever be intertwined with her Beloved's.

I love the song "Dress Us Up" by John Mark Mcmillan. As you read some of the lyrics below, I encourage you to dive into this uncontrolled, uninhibited ocean of LOVE with Jesus right now:

"Dress us up in your righteousness

Bring us in with a ring and a kiss

When you walk into the room you know we can't resist

Every bottle of perfume always ends up on the floor in a mess"

Jesus is the author and finisher of this kind of intimate relationship. He can't take His eyes off of you. You ravish His heart in a way that causes the earth to sing out and the heavens to resound with the heartbeat of His love for you. If you're feeling apprehensive or afraid to let Him that close, I encourage you to ask Jesus to show you what it would look like to have this kind of intimacy with Him. And I pray you feel the sweet kisses of His love and pleasure over you like never before!

Love, Karena