THE CHILDREN OF GOD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

See how very much our Heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don't know God so they don't understand that we are His children. Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when He comes we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.

1 John 3:1-3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As you read the very first chapter of the Bible, you discover something very important about your origin for all people were created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27). The world would have us dabble in DNA and other matters of genetics to try and reach some human understanding of why we are like we are. But what science tries to discover and what God has already established are two different matters. The mysteries of the human being will never be solved by someone in a laboratory or by any philosopher or theorist.

That’s because we come from a Master Maker…One who is the Creator of every living thing and the Author of intelligence and brainpower. The world’s most brilliant minds will only achieve what God allows them to. Every single human is subordinate to him and the world’s greatest minds only achieve what He permits them to.

And yet, those who see themselves as intellectually superior think they can gain understanding equivalent to God Himself, that is, if they even believe God exists at all. Such arrogance is simply mere foolishness.

So since we have established through the Word that God created us in His own image, we still have to get by the fact that we are all sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). For although God created people in His own image, you couldn’t recognize it by the way they choose to live.

This is why God sent His Son Jesus, so to pay the price we couldn’t pay so to grant us the gift of salvation we couldn’t earn or deserve. When anyone created in God’s image chooses to believe in Jesus, they find their sins forgiven through the cleansing atonement found in the blood of Jesus, the blood that one day will lead to death passing over every Christian believer.

And so God saves those created in His own image through His Son but He also grants Christians one other special blessing once they are saved. For each and every saved believer, those who receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the moment they place their trust in Christ, automatically becomes a true child of the God Most High. We know so through these words in the eighth chapter of Romans:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:14-16

With this knowledge in hand, we can now understand John’s words in the opening three verses of 1 John, chapter 3. There we read the following:

See how very much our Heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don't know God so they don't understand that we are His children. Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when He comes we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.

In our scripture passage for today, John gets to the heart and essence of God’s nature in saying He loves us so much that we are called His children. He loved us so much that He made a way to save us (John 3:16) so we could avoid the judgment of Hell and abide with Him forever in Heaven.

You know, there’s something so very awesome about that…something awesome about having a perfect Father in Heaven who watches over us and raises us up to be the kind of people He wants us to be, right and righteous to be worthy of being His child. Indeed, just as a parent nurtures and teaches a child entrusted to his or her care, so too does our Heavenly Father care for us. The big difference is that God makes no mistakes in parenting. We need not be concerned that our Heavenly Parent might be flawed in some way, somehow abusing or misguiding us. Rather, we are nurtured by the ultimate, perfect Role Model.

Friends, knowing God is our Eternal Parent gives us a reassurance that by following His direction and committing to His will, we can approach holiness. We can do as He commands, seeking to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16).

And as if this isn’t awesome enough, He sent us His only Son Jesus to model what spiritual purity looks like. All any Christian needs to do is to know how Jesus lived and then live likewise. In other words, to be truly Christian is to be Christ-like.

Conversely, the people who belong to the world are under the control of the one who dominates the earth, Satan, the father of all lies (John 8:44). They are blind to the truth that they were created in God’s image, the God who longs for them to come to Him like father waiting for his prodigal son to return home (Luke 15:11-32).

As we close this message, a few questions to ponder.

1. Are you a child of the world or a child of the Almighty, Heavenly God who created you in His own image and longs to see you saved and seeking to become holy as He is holy?

2. If you have strayed from your true Father, are you willing to return to Him today?

3. Will you believe in Jesus and commit yourself to purity in your lifestyle and service in His name?

Consider these carefully for as John reminds us, Jesus is coming back and when He does, He will be taking with Him those who He knows (i.e. those who have chosen to have a relationship with Him). Those in Christ will go with Him into Heaven to be with the Father. All others will be left behind to languish in the eternal torment and suffering of Hell.

All and all, it really is a matter of choice.

God made you, God loves you, and God expects you to respect Him as your true Father. However, He never forces anyone to be saved and become His true child.  A person must first decide to believe and place their hope in the One who made them and made the way for salvation.

So, where do you stand today?

If you have yet to come to your Father and officially become His child through believing in Jesus as Savior, today can be the day of your salvation.

One thing’s for sure, the Heavenly Father is waiting for you and longs to welcome you to Him forever. Don’t disappoint Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.