Children of God
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1 NKJV
This verse has been a bad penny for me lately. It’s popped up everywhere! It’s such a simple phrase. It’s so simple that we have relegated it to children’s songs. But John didn’t write it to children, he wrote it to grownups like you and me! Behold! What a bold word to use. “Look here!” , “Take a peek” , “ Catch a glimpse” , “PAY ATTENTION!” Behold the way God loves us! We wretched (yes, even you), poor sin-slaves, accepted, adopted, children of God. It’s the most amazing rags-to-riches story yet! And better yet, we are children of God! Not just accepted family, not co-workers, not held to account as adults at all, but children.
I have a story in my past, and perhaps you have a similar one. I was unloading the dishwasher, and I dropped a piece of china, and it did what china does when it hits the floor…It shattered! My mother did not berate me for being so careless with her fine things, she did not punish me at all, because I was worth more to her than her china. Similarly, God regards us as Children, and does not berate us for our shortcomings. In fact, the psalmist said of God, “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.” Psalm 130:3-4
This verse has been a bad penny for me lately. It’s popped up everywhere! It’s such a simple phrase. It’s so simple that we have relegated it to children’s songs. But John didn’t write it to children, he wrote it to grownups like you and me! Behold! What a bold word to use. “Look here!” , “Take a peek” , “ Catch a glimpse” , “PAY ATTENTION!” Behold the way God loves us! We wretched (yes, even you), poor sin-slaves, accepted, adopted, children of God. It’s the most amazing rags-to-riches story yet! And better yet, we are children of God! Not just accepted family, not co-workers, not held to account as adults at all, but children.
I have a story in my past, and perhaps you have a similar one. I was unloading the dishwasher, and I dropped a piece of china, and it did what china does when it hits the floor…It shattered! My mother did not berate me for being so careless with her fine things, she did not punish me at all, because I was worth more to her than her china. Similarly, God regards us as Children, and does not berate us for our shortcomings. In fact, the psalmist said of God, “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.” Psalm 130:3-4
a) Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us
b) That we should be called children of God.