See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so, we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
1 John 3:1-10
All those who have been born of God will necessarily resemble Christ with respect to His righteousness. The beloved disciple takes time to marvel at the great love of the Father in granting us the privilege of being His children in our verses today. We must always remember that God was/is under no obligation to save us from our sin. Even less was God obligated to grant us the privilege of son-ship that we might receive an inheritance in His Son, as Paul writes in Ephesians 1:11. God would have been just to leave us in our sins or simply to call us slaves, without the great love and honor a child receives from a good father. Yet, in His great love, He has not only saved us but has adopted us into His family, and has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, again, as Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3–6. May we never become ungrateful for this tremendous love! So, what does it mean to be a child of God? The answer is that to be a child of God is to be righteous in Christ. This is implicit in verse 1 where the apostle speaks of the world rejecting us in ways like Jesus’ own rejection by the world in His day. That we are also rejected implies that we will be like Christ who is Himself the only begotten Son of God. At Christ’s return we will be like Him, but even now this likeness is present, though only partially, since we are already God’s children. At His return we will be more like Jesus, even though we do not know all of what this will entail for us. We can say, however, that being like Christ, now and forever, involves moral purity. Verse 3 tells us that those who hope in Christ purify themselves as He is pure. As we hope in Jesus alone, our lives will be transformed. We will become more holy in this life, and at His return be conformed fully to His spotless image. Are you frustrated with your current progression in holiness? Do you think that you will never overcome your persistent sins? If you hope in Christ, you should not feel this way. For, if you truly hope in Him, you are His child and are already becoming more like Him. In prayer, ask the Lord to remind you that you are His child and as such you can resist temptation. Thank Him for restoring you when you do fall, and hope on Him today so that you might live accordingly.
Source: S C Ball October 8, 2023
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