Instruction
Scripture: 1 John 3:1-3
John’s first letter carries many of the same themes and
images as his gospel does. He wrote to proclaim the same message as his gospel,
part of which is that we become children of God through faith in Jesus. In this
particular part of his letter John marvels at God’s love as he points out that
it is because of God’s love that “we should be called children of God.”
Adoption, however, is not his only point, but he also states that such faith
also purifies the believer. This point is key as we celebrate All Saints’ Day:
we are cleansed of our sin through faith in Jesus, and have become God’s children
who live in His love. When Jesus returns we will be revealed as something
wonderful in His glory and love.
Teaching
Jesus is going to return. One day He will appear and He will
judge the living and the dead. At that time something marvelous will happen to
us. We will be raised and we will be much more than we are now. We will be
perfect, glorified, and pure just like Jesus. Until then we live as people who
wait for a promise reminding ourselves who we are: children of God, beloved,
declared pure, and waiting for the resurrection.
God’s love, however, brings a separation from the world.
John speaks of this as the world not knowing us. It does not know us because it
does not know Jesus. One of the things we learn as God’s children is that just
as the world rejects Jesus, it will reject us. We will bear that burden,
however, because we have been so deeply loved by God and because of the promise
of what is to come. We might not know what we will be like when Jesus appears,
but we know we will be like Him. That will be amazing!
Life
Do you ever dream of heaven? Have you ever wondered what we
will be like when we live with Jesus forever in glory? The Bible is
frustratingly vague about these things, yet the clear sense is that it will be
wonderful. While we wait for that day to come, John gives us this comfort: We
are God’s children. No matter what we go through in this life we will not be
abandoned and we can be comforted by the fact that God has made us His own and purified
us through Jesus’ blood shed for us.
Prayer
Father in heaven, we are Your children. What a wondrous
thought! What a privilege it is to be called Your child! You have not only
claimed us as Your own for this life, though, but have promised us life that
will be even greater in the world-to-come and purified us in Jesus for that
life.
Thank You for adopting us and making us heirs of Your
kingdom. Thank You for claiming us as Your own. We are so grateful for the
privilege of calling You our Father, and for the hope of becoming like Jesus in
the resurrection; especially that we will be pure and sinless.
But we are not there yet. We still sin much and act as
though we were not Your children and that we will not live forever in Your
glory. Please forgive us for living more like the world lives than we should as
children of God.
Fix this good news in our hearts: We are children of God and
loved by God. Let that message buoy us during the struggles of this life and
encourage us to look forward to the life-to-come. Amen.
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