His word: 1 John 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. (NLT)
What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to. (The Message)
Observation and Obedience: As I sit here in my hotel room after my 6 month check up with my Oncologist, I have to say, knowing that the God of creation, Abba Father, calls me HIS child is comforting. It’s not only comforting, it’s worthy of a Happy Dance, a SHOUT Out, a Thank YOU JESUS!
But……did you notice the BUT in this verse? But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize who we are, because……..they don’t know HIM.
We are unrecognizable and the world doesn’t take us seriously. Is that a good thing? Honestly, I’m a bit relieved that it’s not my fault they don’t know Him. In this verse, there’s no blame. They just don’t know Him.
So with this kind of love from our Father, and no blame, what should our response be to the folks around us who think we’ve flipped a lid or gone off the deep end with all this religious stuff? Hey, it’s easy for me, my father and two brothers are Pastors, what else would I be? The rest of you……what’s your excuse?
It’s not an excuse they’re looking for……really, it’s not. They want to know why? They want to know what difference it makes in our lives? They want to know that it’s not just a Sunday morning church thing. They want to know that there really is a hope for all that’s gone wrong in this world. They want to know He loves them too! They just don’t know.
That’s where our responsibility comes in. We need to love like He loves. Later on in 1John 3 it says, “This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for each other as brothers and sisters. Suppose a believer who is rich enough to have all the necessities of life sees a fellow believer who is poor and does not have even basic needs. What if the rich believer does not help the poor one? Then it is clear that God’s love is not in that person’s heart. My children, our love should not be only words and talk. No, our love must be real. We must show our love by the things we do.” Because the world is watching to see how we treat one another, how we talk of one another, how we LOVE.
Satan wants nothing more than to show us up as hypocrites and a lot of talk. Let’s be children who are ready to defend our name by loving like we have been loved. Let’s live it out with a little less talk and a lot more action!
Prayer: I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, now I pray that He will guide me to do whatever I’m supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, now I’m praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, now I know that prayer changes us and we change things. (Mother Teresa) Lord Jesus, help me to love the way that you love. Amen
Encouragement: Pay more attention to your Creator than your critics. Don’t worry about other people’s opinions of you. God never told you to impress people; only to love them. – Dave Willis
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