“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are…” – 1 John 3:1a
In a recent post entitled, Is Everyone on Earth of Child of God? I discussed that the comment misconception that everyone is a child of God. Bottom line is that only those who believe in Jesus and accept his salvation as their own can be considered children of God. Admittedly controversial in this day and age but the plain truth of the Bible.
You are part of the family!
What about you? Do you believe in God? Do you have faith and trust in Jesus as your personal savior? If you do then God considers you a son or daughter. A member of the royal family. Think about this. This is an amazing truth. God Almighty, the master of the universe, the originator or all life, the one who dwells in unapprochable light loves you and I. He is all knowing and all powerful. There is nothing about you that he doesn’t know. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows all of your faults and all of your failures and yet he loves you.
More than that, through the miracle of the salvation we received in Christ Jesus, God the Father doesn’t condemn us! I try to relate to it in the context of our human love. I have three children I love very much. Even though I love my children I am aware that each of them has distinct faults in their characters. My son sometimes lies to me when he has done something he knows is wrong. Because of a fear of punishment he will often cover up what he has done wrong so that I or my wife won’t discover it. Clearly, this isn’t bevavior that I like in my son but do you know what? Even though he has this weakness right now, it doesn’t mean I love him less. My love for him isn’t based on whether he is perfectly obeying me or not. I love him because he is a part of me. He is my son, my own flesh and blood.
If I, being a fallable human being and father can love my son even though he doesn’t always measure up to my standards of conduct and obedience, how much more can God the Father love me in spite of my weaknesses and sins?
I grew up with parents who did the best they knew how in raising my brothers and I but who were often harsh and critical of me and my actions. I ended up internalizing their disapproval in many areas of my life which has resulted in my having to get healing for a harsh and critical outlook on others. I have been very hard on myself and this has often resulted on my being hard on those I love and those I work with. I praise God that he is working on me in this area though I know I still have a ways to go before I can claim freedom from self criticism and self rejection but I now know that with God’s work in me I have the hope that I will one day be free of self judgment and criticism.
GOD LOVES YOU!
If I went to you and said to you, “Do you know that God loves you?”, you’d probably respond with something like, “I know.” You probably realize however, that there is a big difference to knowing something intellectually and knowing something emotionally and experientially. I have a saying a learned years ago that states, “You don’t know what you don’t know because if you knew you would do. To know and not to do is not to know.”
One one level you probably know that God loves you. There are many verses in the Bible that tell us God loves us. John 3:16 is probably the most famous. ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” You may not realize that God accepts you where you are at too. He doesn’t expect you to be perfect before he will love and accept you. Perfection is something that God does in us, not something we do ourselves. “It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.” – Philippians 2:13 (GWT)
Jesus Christ came into the world to save you and I. He didn’t come to condemn us in our sins but to save us from our condemnation or death sentence. “God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned because they don’t believe in God’s only Son.” – John 3:17-18
Practical Application
Ok, so God considers us his children. He doesn’t concentrate on what’s wrong with us but what’s right with us. He loves us with an everlasting love. He is the one who produces the good works and actions in us if we will surrender ourselves to him. According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 we get clues as to how he sees us. Since God is love and these four verses describe that love we can make fairly accurate assumptions of what God thinks towards his children.
God is patient with us. He hopes the best for us. He isn’t easily irritated at our faults and he doesn’t keep track of our wrongs (just the opposite in fact). He will never stop hoping, never stop believing in us, never give up on us.
How Amazing is the God that we serve!
Do you know him yet as your Lord and Savior? If not, why not make the decision to follow him today? Ask him to come live inside of you, to forgive your sins and to help you surrender your life to his leading and care. I guarantee that you won’t regret it!