God’s Children
Scripture:
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
—1 John 3:1–3 (NLT)
John does not ease into this. He opens with an invitation to stop and marvel. See how very much our Father loves us. Not a passing glance but a sustained look at something almost too good to take in. The God of the universe calls us His children. Not servants, not subjects, not distant admirers. Children. And John is careful to say that this is not merely a title or a metaphor. That is what we are. The love that names us is the same love that made us, and it is the kind of love that does not change based on our performance or our feelings on a given day. We are already God’s children, John says. The identity is settled.
And yet the world around us does not recognize it. Those who do not know God cannot see what He has done in us because they do not know Him. This is not a reason for pride or separation. It is a reason for compassion. They are missing the most fundamental thing, a relationship with the Father who loves them just as deeply. We were once in that same place. And the love that reached us is the same love reaching toward them.
“Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved. Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”¹ — Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
Nouwen understood what John is declaring. The battle over our identity is not primarily fought in the world around us. It is fought within us. Every voice that tells us we are not enough, that we have disqualified ourselves, that the love of God could not possibly reach us — that voice is lying. It contradicts the sacred voice that has already spoken. And what has that voice said? You are My child. You are beloved.
And one day, when Christ appears, you will see Him as He really is and be fully transformed into His likeness. Until that day, the calling is clear. Live out of that identity. Pursue purity not out of fear but out of hope. Keep your eyes fixed on the One who is coming. And let the love the Father has lavished on you overflow into the lives of those who have not yet heard His voice.
Reflection:
- What thoughts or feelings stir in you when you consider that God calls you His child?
- How can your hope in seeing Jesus one day shape the way you live today?
- In what ways can you reflect God’s love to those who don’t yet know Him?
Prayer:
Thank God for His love and for calling you His child. Ask Him to help you live each day with purity, hope, and purpose as you look forward to seeing Jesus face to face.
Footnote:
¹ Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World (New York: Crossroad, 1992).