“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not."
For the last couple of days I have been on what I will call “a fishing expedition” in 1 John. Today, I came across this from the third chapter, as it so often is, I saw it in a way that I have never seen it before. I want to share what I found there on this trip. John had been with Jesus from almost the start of His three year ministry, and He had served Jesus for many years before he wrote 1 John, but he was still amazed at the love of God. When we think that we have served long enough, and have arrived at a theological sophistication that we can take God’s love, that He lavished on us through His Son, for granted, we have gone too far. I know that I am amazed that God loves me. I know myself, and I know that I cannot deserve that love, but He loves me because of His grace. Before you get on a “high horse” over that statement, God also loves you in spite of yourself. Lord only knows that by His grace I’m better than I used to be, but I know that I need to grow in Christ. (We might say that I am not doing somersaults over by goodness. Lol) This will go on until the day I die – and you too. I can still sing: “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind that now I see.” (We can’t mention God’s great love for us without thinking of His amazing grace.) John was still amazed that we should be called “the children of God.” This means that through faith in Jesus, we belong to God’s family, and we are His children. We just cannot take that for granted. Because of this, we need to act, or behave like, God’s children and stop living like the world. I’ve heard of people telling their children before they went out into the world that they should: “Remember whose child you are.” In other words we will show our raising by how we act. That is certainly true of us as God’s children. What the world needs today is for God’s children to start behaving like we are His children. This leads me to the inevitable third point: The world does not understand us because we are children of God: “therefore the world does not know us, because it does not know Him.” This is illustrated in the world today thousands of times every day. The hedonistic world does not understand what it means to follow Jesus. As peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:4: “They think it strange that you plunge not with them in the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.” But because we belong to Jesus, we will still love those “who heap abuse” upon us, because that is what He did, and taught us to do. Because we are children of God, we are witnesses to the world that does not understand us. We do not join them, but we do encounter them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, that’s what I found in 1 John today! Say “amen” or “oh me.” Bro. Joe
2 Comments
Linda Brooks
5/30/2016 12:49:38 pm
OH, but for the love of CHRIST, I am a FLAT zero....AsYou are writing, I am Praying to be one of the SET APART CHRISTIANS as GOD'S WORD speaks of. I appreciate your encouragement. GOD BIESS you and yours.
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Linda Brooks
6/2/2016 09:38:20 pm
I Praise GOD constantly for HIS.AMAZING GRACE to a wretched person like me !!!!
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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