LEARNING DAILY

 

1 John 3:1-2, Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 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.

 

As Christians, we can know that one day we will be like Jesus Christ – resurrected and without sin! That gives me great hope about everything! I find my identity in Him and in nothing else. Today, focus on the truth that God is the heavenly Father of those who give their life to Jesus Christ, recognizing they are sinners who need to be save by Him; when people give their hearts to Him, to be changed by Him, they become His children. This might be the greatest revelation of truth in the New Testament! What a great and high privilege it is to become Christ’s own. Being a child of God is the basis of faith and trust in God. It becomes our hope for the future as we continue to mature and be cleansed on the narrow way into His kingdom.

 

In Galatians 4:6-7, Paul declares those who have given their lives to Christ are sons of God because “He has sent the Spirit of His Son to live in our hearts and we are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ”.   “The Holy Spirit begins to live in the heart of the new Believer at the moment of salvation giving the new believer the internal power never had before and transforms our hearts from hateful and rebellious to loving and obedient” (David Jeremiah). In the verses from John, he emphasizes that God loves each person so much that He makes those who come to Him through His Son - His children. John continues that unbelievers do not want fellowship or know or understand Christians because the world did not recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah when He came to earth. Children of God are to become more like their Heavenly Father even though others do not recognize them.

 

John called the children of God, “Beloved”. Being a child of God is not a future event for the believer. It happens the moment of true salvation and continues as we walk the narrow way right into His kingdom. What will that future look like? We don’t fully know; we only have glimpses. Those glimpses tell us that Believers will experience a new body and live for eternity in God’s presence – in a way that is far superior to the way we live now! It is very important to understand John’s words “what we will be”. The emphasis is that “born again” Believers will not be perfect on their journey on the narrow way. The narrow way is where Believers grow to become more and more like Christ; that does not mean they will immediately become perfect. The Holy Spirit is continually working in the hearts of those on the narrow way to be led by Him and not the worldly ways that once led them. Being a child of God is the basis for becoming disciplined to read/study/meditate on God’s Word, prayer, staying away from sin (and confessing right away when one sins, asking for forgiveness), and other Christian disciplines. In other words, believers live to please their Heavenly Father in all they do and say. God’s goal is to make Believers His children for eternity and conform to His identity – not some other identity that conforms to anything else.

 

There is coming a day when all people will see Him as He is – the king of kings and the Lord of lords! And we shall be like Him.