God made us His children

Thank you LORD that You gave us the right and privilege to become your children. We are so dirty, unclean and unworthy to be your children, but because of your great love for us, you showered us your love by allowing us to become your children.  It is awesome.  Thank you LORD. 

Text:  1 John 3:1-3  New International Version 

1 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.  

2 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. 

3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

ODB:   After Sherman Smith recruited Deland McCullough to play American football for Miami University, he grew to love him and became the father Deland never had. Deland had great admiration for Sherman and aimed to become the man he was. Decades later, when Deland tracked down his birth mom, she shocked him with the news, “Your father’s name is Sherman Smith.” Yes, that Sherman Smith. Coach Smith was stunned to learn he had a son, and Deland was stunned that his father figure was literally his father!

The next time they met, Sherman hugged Deland and said, “My son.” Deland had never heard that from a father. He knew Sherman “was saying it from a place of ‘I’m proud. This is my son,’ ” and he was overwhelmed. 

We too should be overwhelmed by the perfect love of our heavenly Father. John writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). We’re as dumbfounded as Deland, who didn’t dare think someone like Sherman could be his dad. Is it really true? John insists, yes, “that is what we are!” (v. 1).

If you believe in Jesus, His Father is also your dad. You may feel orphaned, alone in the world. But the truth is, you have a Father—the only perfect One—and He’s proud to call you His child.   By Mike Wittmer

Commentary:  The gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation were all written by John, who called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 21:20).  

As one of the Twelve, he was part of Christ’s inner circle, which included his brother James and Peter. They witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–8) and the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:49–56). And they were nearby in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–38).

Christ’s love motivated John and is a central theme of his writings. We see this clearly stated in 1 John: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (3:1) and “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (v. 16). The magnitude of God’s love and how we’re called to love in response is a key theme of 1 John 4:7–21.

by  Alyson Kieda

From me:  Thank you LORD that You gave us the right and privilege to become your children. We are so dirty, unclean and unworthy to be your children, but because of your great love for us, you showered us your love by allowing us to become your children.  It is awesome.  Thank you LORD. 

Posted November 27, 2023