God's children

"Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God's children; and that is what we are." (1 John 3:1a; The Jerusalem Bible)

John the Evangelist makes bold claims. Rather than appealing to speculations about God or human behavior or questions of eternity, John asks his readers to think -- to think about the love of God and of God's adopting us as God's own children.

"Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God's children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us." (1 John 3:1)

Resentments arise in almost any human community when some members feel loved and others do not feel loved -- in families, in neighborhoods, in churches, and beyond. Sadly, those who have not yet felt the embrace of God's love and/or those who do not feel God's love in a given moment, will find it very difficult to imagine that love or appreciate its evidence in the lives of those who know that loving embrace.

"My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;" (1 John 3:2a)

Those who follow Christ -- from Simon, Andrew, and the others to this very moment -- have always had trouble following Christ. We want to tell Jesus how things should work. We try to keep Jesus out of trouble by keeping him away from the poor, the sick, the sinful. We try to imagine some future heavenly benefits which we might obtain. John says, "we are already the children of God". Further, he insists that the "future has not yet been revealed". God's children, Jesus' impatient siblings, should celebrate the "love the Father has lavished on us" and trust God -- who has provided such blessings in the past and present -- to provide for the future.

". . . all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is." (1 John 3:2b)

John's heart already knows the truth: We can trust God. God's continuing revelation will help us receive God's loving embrace and help us discover the simple joy and amazing grace of knowing who we are: God's children -- in this time and beyond the limits of time. We can trust God to lead us because God has confirmed in us the truth of who we are: God's children. ". . . we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is."

"Think of the love the Father has lavished on us . . ."