Showing Love

Contributed by: Larry Jeffries Johnny was not a very popular boy at school, in fact you might say he wasn’t liked at all. It was not anything in particular, well you know the type (maybe even been one of these yourself).

Johnny loved Valentines Day and every year looked forward to it. He would start early and make his list, look for special valentines for each schoolmate on his list. But, it sems that all of this effort went astray because he never received a valentine from anyone at school. Another valentines day rolled around and he had his special cards ready to go that day. Off he went to school protecting his cards so they would be spotless upon his arrival at school. As he boarded the bus and was out of sight of his mother, tears filled her eyes and soon were cascading off her cheeks. Oh, how she dreaded his coming in that evening, knowing he probably would not get a single card in return. She prayed diligently for him all day and soon the bus rounded the curve and came to a stop in front of their house. Johnny came out of the bus and she heard him say as he came up the path, "not a one". Her heart broke. then again she heard him say, "not a single one." She didn’t know what she was going to say to him. as he approached her his expression changed to a great big smile and he shouted these words, "not a one, I didn’t forget a valentine for a single one."

1Jo 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

1Jo 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

1Jo 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Introduction:

Michael McCarntney 1 John 3 reminds us about how great God’s love really is. We could ask the question “How great is it?” It is so great says John that we actually are called the children of God. We are family to God! We are God’s sons and daughters. We belong to his blood line his heritage. We are his heirs. With son-ship and daughter-ship comes family blessings and promising that go with this royal family. We are Sons and Daughters to the King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Great I Am, The Creator of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, and all the other royal titles that go with God. This thought for many people today is not thought about very much. We have often ourselves forgotten who we are when we become the recipients of God’s Divine love and forgiveness. John reminds us we become the children of Almighty God! Wow what an honor!

1. We are Bestowed a Love vs. 1

2. We have Become sons of God vs. 2

3. We must Be unlike the world vs. 3

One day the reformer Martin Luther was feeling rather down. The Pope was after him. His colleagues were bickering among themselves. He felt the heavy pressure that came with being a professor, pastor, and father. And he was in excruciating pain from kidney stones. As he moped around the house muttering underneath his breath, his wife Katherine announced in a solemn voice, “God is dead.” Luther looked at his wife with puzzlement and replied, “God is not dead!” Katherine went on to say, “It sure seems like God is dead by the way you are acting.” Luther thanked his wife and etched a Latin word on his desk: vivit. Vivit means, “He lives.” Whenever things weren’t going well and Luther was tempted to complain about them, he looked at that one simple word and was invigorated. Because Jesus was alive Luther had every reason to be upbeat.

John tells us what Katherine told Luther: “Cheer up, Christian!” John urges us to cheer up no matter what our circumstances or our prospects because we are God’s children, and because we will soon exchange our cross for a crown.

1. We are Bestowed a Love vs. 1

1Jo 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Lewis Smedes put it this way, “It may be a very bad thing that I need God to die for me, but it is a wonderful thing that God thinks I’m worth dying for.”