“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.” 1 John 3.1-3
What does it mean to be a child of God?
Children who are made pure by the blood of the Lamb. Children who are loved by an eternal, everlasting God. Children who are not abandoned, but who wait in hope for His return. This is what it means to be a child of God.
The love God has lavished upon us is great—it’s not just good. God’s love is agape love—not conditional, not temporary, but everlasting and filled with grace. God’s love is lavished upon us—poured out in abundance. So much so that, by the very nature of His overwhelming love, we are called and identified as His children.
I love my children differently than I love the rest of the world. I want to pour out love upon them lavishly. And God’s love is even greater than that.
But the world doesn’t necessarily know or recognize us, because it does not know or recognize God. Yet our assurance, as John writes, is that one day we will “be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Consider that—seeing God as He is. Can our eyes bear to look upon the Almighty? He who made time, space, the world, and everything in it? He who is wholly Other, yet also Jesus in the flesh? How might we look upon Him and not die? His love is good, and His ways are eternal.
To be a child of God means we live like one. We don’t give in to temptation that lures us away from purity. We strive for holiness—to be set apart—and to run the race with endurance, the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1–2).
I’ve wrapped up my time in Bulgaria and had my most significant contact with the locals on the final night, outside the church building where the congregation was praying. I brought a few brothers and a frisbee and found some children, youth, and young adults who were hungry for connection. After a few hours, we made friends.
I heard the testimony of a young mother named Margina—abandoned by her husband, holding her baby, living in a dead-end town on the edge of the Black Sea. Yet she had hope—and she was wearing a Jesus T-shirt! I was so blessed to be with those young people, and I plan to return with some Revive leaders who will minister, love, and share the gospel of His great love.
What does it mean to be a child of God? It means this: to be His hands and feet, to love, and to lead people to the hope of Jesus.
Are you willing to accept that calling today?
“O Lord God, thank You for loving us. Thank You for Your power and might. Come now, Holy Spirit—fill me with Your love, that I might love others as You have loved me. I praise Your name. Take me home to Texas, that I might tell of Your goodness and reflect your glory. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen