Across the street from my daughter’s dance studio, a small shop named Cross your Heart Cupcakes creates the best cupcakes ever. When it’s my birthday, their cupcakes are what I’m craving.

Now, we also make cupcakes at home. With a box mix and a store-bought tub of frosting, semi-homemade cupcakes work in a pinch.

But for special occasions, we go to the cupcake shop.

No store-bought stuff here. You have your choice of mini, regular, or jumbo sizes and various flavors of both cake and frosting. Red velvet, lemon, strawberry, chocolate. Lofty swirls of rich frosting snowcap deliciously moist mini-mountains of cake. Gourmet cupcakes take it to another level with fresh strawberries and extra frosting. Decisions, decisions.

Now, picture God’s love for you as a cupcake. When I was growing up, my picture of God’s love for me looked like a homemade box mix cupcake with a thin layer of frosting. No sprinkles, no strawberries.

That picture began to change when I discovered I John 3:1:

“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!” (NIV)

The key word here is lavish.

Lavish says, “Get in the car. We are going to the cupcake shop,”  and not only do we head for the cupcake shop, but God orders the biggest, fanciest gourmet cupcake they have, just for you. Chocolate cake, strawberries, cream cheese frosting, butter cream frosting, chocolate syrup. Then, He adds whipped cream, cherries, sprinkles, and a sparkler candle.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us…”

Have a cupcake this week and think of Him.

(What is your favorite cupcake? Mine is chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, although the chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting is a close second.)