Children of God

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God." 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

What does it mean to be a child of someone? In my family, it meant that the parents were in charge of the home, that the children were obedient, and everyone loved each other and lived in harmony. I was very fortunate to belong to parents who truly wanted and loved each and every child that they had. But other homes are not so fortunate to have loving parents who desire the best for their children. Then there are those parents who want a child so desperately that they have to adopt a child that was ultimately born to someone else. They take them in as their own and love them as their own. In God's family, his children belong to Him as his creation AND they are loved as children who are adopted.

For God loves each and every one of us so much that He was willing to sacrifice his ONLY son that not one of us should perish into the eternal flames of damnation (John 3:16-17). If you are a parent, would you sacrifice your only child to save the world? How about a community? How about a family of four? God sacrificed His son to save each person individually. If there would have only been one person who needed saving, He still would have sent Jesus. Abraham bartered with God over the saving of Sodom. He asked God to save the city if there were only 50 righteous men in it, and God agreed to save it. When Abraham finished the questioning of God, the Holy Lord agreed to save the city if there were only 10 righteous men in it! And, of course, there was not because Sodom was consumed in flames.

It is difficult to understand the magnitude with which God loves us. His all-knowing, all-powerful Spirit understands the thoughts and hearts of each of us. He is all that is good within us! Psalm 147 says “great is the Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit” (5) and “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” (10-11). I will put my hope in the unfailing love of God the Father, because He cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). God’s plan is always perfect for us (Isaiah 25:1), even though we cannot see the outcome for some potential discomfort on the front side.

So may we live in perfect peace, understanding that God’s love will keep us and protect us (Isaiah 26:3) as we are HIS children and heirs to the kingdom and co-heirs with Christ our brother (Romans 8:17).