Many years ago we bought a mermaid doll that sung when it was squeezed for one of my daughters for Christmas because it was the one toy she really wanted. It turned out to be too difficult for a young child to squeeze and so she had to put it on the floor and step on it to get it to sing. Having to stomp on the toy to get it to sing was not what she had envisioned and the doll soon found a permanent home in the toy box.
In Ephesians 1, the Bible talks of how God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ and has lavished His grace on us with all wisdom and understanding.  Our personal lavishness is rarely connected with wisdom or understanding. Yet in a small way, our love for our children is like God's love for us.  Not that God gives us useless things that we don't need, but that he does not hold back from giving to us even when we reject his gifts.
Consider Jesus' life on earth.  Why did Jesus heal all ten lepers when only one would return to give thanks?  Why did Jesus weep over sinners in Jerusalem whom he knew would never repent?  Why did Jesus spend so much time with the Pharisees when only a few ever responded? Why did Jesus die for all when most reject him?  His time was short, yet he "wasted" much of it on people who would never respond.
If we are not careful, we can adopt a "business sense" when it comes to helping others.  We refrain from investing unless we are guaranteed a return.  We have been hurt or rejected in the past and so think that it would be wise to be frugal with our love and restrict it to only a few, maybe just those in our family.  We think that if we spend our emotions and time on just our family, there will be a bigger impact. It seems to make sense, but there is a problem.  By restricting our hearts, love, and outreach to a few that we feel certain to respond we no longer demonstrate the heart of God.  This prevents us from impacting the few we look to help.  When we no longer imitate God, we lose the ability to influence others to imitate him.
In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us how God sends his blessings on the righteous and the unrighteous.  We are told to love our enemies.  This is not a passive love where we just don't harbor bitterness towards them, but an active love where we do good to them and pray for them.  This command is not based on their response but on God's heart.  The results of our outreach and giving are not limited to the response of others but also include our becoming more Christ-like.  Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
 
 
~ Written by Greg Bickel