1 John Chapter 3

1 John 3

NKJV

by Bo Sullivan

1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

We hardly understand the "manner of love" of our heavenly Father. We, as fathers and mothers, invest our time, money and resources raising our children. We watch them grow year by year. We take them out to the fence row and show them the boundaries of safety. We teach them about the hostile environment outside the sanctuary. Yet one day, in spite of all that we’ve done, our child jumps fence and runs away. We go to the place where they crossed the fence and look out with longing eyes and aching hearts hoping that they are alright. We stand helpless wishing for their safe return.

God’s heart breaks just like ours when His children run away from him. Sometimes love hurts. And yes, it’s worth the investment, because the soul that’s afraid of dying never learns to live. And the heart afraid of breaking never learns to love. True love gives. Love gives energy to a relationship. Love is not afraid of investing in a relationship. God is love. God is a giver. God gives into a relationship until there’s nothing else to give or until we don’t want it anymore.

God invests in us by making us His own children! We belong to Him because He bought us for a price. Yes, God had to pay a high price for us. That price was His own life’s blood. That’s right friend, we are expensive. We cost God a lot of pain and suffering, we did not come free or cheap. God looked at us, then looked at the price it would cost Him to purchase us out of sin and said, "they are worth it!" Hallelujah! Therefore, He is happy to heap treasures on our heads. He is making us joint-heirs with Jesus Christ His only begotten son. He has given us ownership of this world, all that’s within it, and the world to come.

I sometimes wonder why God constantly refers to us as "children?" Some of us are full grown adults, yet He calls us children. I think God knows us better than we know ourselves. We act like children so much of the time that the title fits us well. We cry for our way many times just like our own children do.

Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Look at verse 13. Make no mistake about it, the sinful world is alienated from God and does not understand you! They don’t know what it is that makes you tick. Believers are dancing to the beat of a strange and different drum as for as the world is concerned.

When the world is going in one direction, Spirit lead believers are usually going in the opposite direction. Always in direct opposition to the spirit of the age.

He came to His own and His own did not know him. How much more will they not know us. His own people misunderstood Him. They couldn’t figure out what made Him work. It is possible to KNOW the force that drives God’s people. But it is foreign to the world and the worldly minded. The way to understand this driving force that makes believers tick is to know Him! The world is not interested in knowing Him intimately. Worldly people look at a situation and ask, "What’s in this for me? What can I take from this person?" Born again believers should look at a situation and ask, "What can I do to help?" "Can I be of service?"

Make no mistake about it, you and I are a misunderstood people. The world lives by different standards and does not understand us. Don’t go around with your head buried in the sand expecting everybody to agree with you and like you just because you name the name of Christ. For the most part, this will be enough to drive wedges between you and worldly minded people. So you might as well expect it. Don’t let it shock you. Don’t let it discourage you. Keep your head up and keep reminding yourself, "if they knew Him, they would know you."

1 John 3:2

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Be-loved. He has titled you as Be-loved. You are being loved present tense by God and His associates. The word "beloved" speaks volumes to us. Some people were once loved but have lost that love. Others have never been loved nor have they loved others, love is foreign to them.