Children of God

December 1

Hosea 10-11

Psalm 135:8-14

Proverbs 28:20-21

I John 3

Children Of God

“See what great 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.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure.”  I John 3:1-3  NIV

I John 3 begins by emphasizing the love God has for us.  He tells us that God has lavished His love on us.  This isn’t just an obligatory love, it is generous and extravagant.  “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being firmly rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:18-19 LSB   We can’t even comprehend how much He loves us.  In His love He adopted us as children.  My husband is adopted.  When I first met his family I was amazed at how they didn’t think of him as being adopted.  He was their child, just like his sister, who is their biological child.  His aunt told me on more than one occasion that our children looked like someone in their family.  She would say, “Emily gets that from our side of the family.”  I would look at her, smile and just nod in agreement.  I think that is how God feels about us.  We are His children and He is our Father with all the rights and responsibilities that brings.  John explained that the world does not know us or like us because it did not know or like Him.  Since we belong to Him, it should not be surprising that it treats us with the same disdain that it treated Him. 

John goes on to say that what we will be has not been made known yet.  But when Christ returns, we will be like Him and we will see Him as He is.  “Behold, I tell you a mystery:  we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.  For this corruptible must put on the incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality.” I Corinthians 15:51-53 LSB   We can’t really comprehend what this means, but we are going to be changed and we will receive glorified bodies when Christ returns.  Everyone who bears the name of Christ, who has been born again, will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye.  We will put off our sinful nature and put on His righteousness.  Those who have this hope of His return are motivated to strive for holiness and purity in their daily lives.  They long to please Him and strive to obey Him in everything they do.  In light of eternity and our future inheritance, the things of this world lose much of their luster.  There is no point in striving for earthly pleasure when we know that what lies ahead far exceeds anything this world has to offer.  Our attention will be focused on eternal rewards.