God’s Children - John 3:1-3

 

See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children — and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

I Am His Child

God’s children hope. It’s a good and glorious hope.

I am His child. Right now. I don’t have to die and go to heaven first. I am chosen.

Chosen to be his child. Chosen to talk to Him. Chosen to be tested and trained by Him. Chosen to be used by Him. Chosen to be blessed by Him (over and over again).

And I did nothing to deserve it.

I’m like Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory who found a dollar in the snow and bought a chocolate bar with a golden ticket inside. Only in my case, God did it. It wasn’t random.

Plus, it’s infinitely better and more glorious than what happened to Charlie.

Now, the world does not get it. They might be kind to believers. They might not. They might not seem to care. But they don’t get it because they don’t know Him. It’s all a bunch of foolishness to them.

Hope

And to be clear, I am a child of God right now, but not in the glorified sense yet.

See, the apostle John says that we will be like Him when He appears. We will be like Him. What? Am I reading that slowly enough? I’m going to be like Him. This regular dude who can be a complete mess. I’m going to be LIKE HIM!

I’m still not going to be a god of course. My guess is that I’m going to be like Him after He died and rose again. I’m going to have that kind of body. I’m also going to be sinless. Humble. Filled with love and power. Able to think clearly. I’m guessing here, but I think those are pretty good guesses.

John says what I will be has not been revealed. So I can't fully know yet.

See there is hope. Sure there is hope day to day. I hope, I can live in the Spirit of power, love, and wisdom now. In some sense, that’s what I am doing, today.
 

Purify Myself Just as He is Pure

But there’s also an ultimate glorified sense of something wonderful that will happen because I am a Child of God. John tells me that because I have this hope, I purify myself, just as He is pure.

Gulp. Double gulp.

Is that a fact or a command?

The way I read this, John is saying this as a fact. This is what the Children of God do. I am a child of God, so I in fact, purify myself. I do it. It happens.

And it looks like a complete and utter mess when it happens in my life! But it happens. God is good and faithful.

And how about this: I purify myself just as He is pure. Do I feel like that is what is happening? No. Does it happen? Yes. God uses all kinds of means to accomplish it in my life.

I live. I do. I act. I purify myself. I stumble. I fall. I mess it up. I cry out to Him. He lifts me up. He cleans me up. I live. I do. I act. Again.

I purify myself. Just as He is pure. And my desire to be this godly man grows from a mustard seed into tree. He does it; I live it.

Lord, do your good work in me. I am your child today. I have this hope that you are doing wonderful things in me and all of your children. I believe you. Teach me to purify myself as John says. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.