1 John 3:1–8 (NKJV)
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
God is love. Is it so strange, then, that He should require His creatures to be like Him, to love as He loves—to love Him with our whole heart, and to love our neighbor as a sort of extension of ourselves? But that is not what He finds in us when we are born. Instead, in those descended from Adam and Eve He finds creatures who are naturally selfish and lovers of ourselves above all things.
And yet, in His great love for us fallen creatures, He sent His Son to suffer for our lovelessness. And then He reached out to us and called us to repentance and faith in Christ, and “to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (Jn 1:12). This is the manner in which He has loved us!
What does it matter that the world does not recognize us Christians as God’s children? The world does not recognize our God, either. What matters is that God knows us, and that we know Him, and that we now seek to be like Him in this life.
True believers in Christ seek to imitate Him, to be righteous like Him, to love as He loves. When they stumble and fall into sin, they quickly repent and seek again to walk in the footsteps of Christ, and their love is evident to all. Hypocrites, on the other hand, only pretend to be Christians. They let anger and pride have their way with them. They give in to sinful pleasures and keep going back for more. They are not careful to turn from sin and to walk in love but live to serve themselves.
Christ came to destroy the works of the devil and to free us from sin. If we belong to Christ, then let us also be careful to turn from the devil’s works and to live as those who are free from sin, and not as those who are free to sin.
Let us pray: O Father, how great is Your love for us! We thank You for making us Your children by bringing us into fellowship with Your beloved Son. Now strengthen us to imitate Your love and to flee from sin in all its forms. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
