Children Of God

1 John 3:1 NLT says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.”

If the enemy could put one lie in the mind of a believer, I think it would be that the Father does not love them. Indeed, the basis for our relationship with God centers on him as a loving father. Seeing ourselves rightly as children of God speaks to our worth, our identity, and our future.

It is important to remember that those who do not know the Lord will not be able to identify this in us. We should also be careful not to assume that other churchgoers are actually following Jesus and surrendered to the Father. Many attend church without actually discovering God… this is one of the reasons Abiding Daily exists. I’m saying that the affirmation of our place as children of God cannot come from those who do not know the Father.

Those who know of God but have not encountered God will downplay the importance of this relationship. Those who do not know God and belong to the world will reject and oppose this relationship. Thankfully, God uses his people as ambassadors of his truth and love. This morning, John is a messenger for us. He is reminding us that we are beloved children of God.

If you haven’t put much thought into this identity that you have been given, now is your chance to see him in a new way. Pausing to meditate on the love of the Father has a way of confronting areas of our hearts that may be out of the truth. There is a pandemic of prodigal sons and daughters, even within the church's walls. I propose that restoring the identity of child of God could be the most transformational shift in the body of Christ.

So today, I confess that I need to understand this reality better. I need a renewed vision of God’s love for me. I encourage you to lean in the same. Remember that we have the Holy Spirit as our helper and guide. Open your heart before the Lord and ask him to show you more of what it means to be loved by the Father.

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