See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3
Have you ever really thought about that statement? A child of God. What does that really mean? How do we manifest that in our lives?
First off, every person that was created is a creation of God, but the role of Child of God was gifted to those of us who have asked Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of our life. Christians. Believers. It means that we are heirs to His Kingdom, heaven, and co-heirs with Jesus. We will become the true children of God when Christ returns but we can also be called the children of God now - Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2 Beloved we are God’s children now… we don’t have to wait until we get to Heaven to be called His children. We just have to wait to be made like Him. But while we are here on earth, living as His children, we are given the honor of representing Him with our lives.
Do People Know You Are A Child of God?
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God… God rescued us from a life of sin and eternal separation from Him, sacrificed His own son for our salvation, and redeemed us. But He didn’t stop there. He adopted us, took us into His family, and accepted us as His sons and daughters. He called us Children of God. Family love is a special kind of love. The love of a father or mother for their children is a love like no other, and the creator of the universe loves us like that! As His own. A member of His family.
What sets us apart from the rest of the world as Children of God? It is simple. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:7-8 At this time there were those in the church claiming to be followers of Jesus, but were not practicing righteousness. They were leaving the church and denying the truth of Jesus. John wanted to protect the new Christians from being persuaded by these false teachers, so he made it very simple for them. Whoever acts like Jesus, treats people like Jesus, and does not live in continuous sin, is righteous. But those who continue to live in sin are of the devil. Most of the time it is pretty clear by the way we live our lives who we serve.
Reading this it makes me think very hard about my life. Clearly, we all struggle with sin, even after coming to Christ. So, does that mean we aren’t really children of God if we struggle? I believe the difference is that we do fail as humans, but if we have Christ in us, we are not continually practicing sinfulness. His nature in us is what provides us the power to overcome – only in Him. So, while we may never achieve a completely sinless life, John also tells us that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and that means in our lifeThe reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 God chose us to be in His family and He has our back. He is there ready to catch us as we fall into Him to take away our sins – all of them. This is a continual process. The heart of a child of God is one of repentance and turning away from sin. It is a heart of a servant, looking to do our Father’s will and works wherever and whenever we can.
